Gushiken Yona
Did Coinbase’s Base network steal art for its NFT? One artist says yes.
The controversy began when Chris Biron, an artist involved in the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) space, publicly challenged Base, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution incubated by Coinbase, for allegedly copying his artwork without permission or attribution. The artwork in question, or something similar to it, was used for an NFT celebrating one billion transactions on the Base network. The NFT, sold by Base, generated over $36,000 in profit.
Base: ‘Less Fun’?
Biron, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), expressed his disappointment, stating, “But when a 76 billion dollar corporation copies it, sells it, and gets $36k+ in profit without attributing me at all, it feels less fun.” He pointed out the irony of the situation, given Base’s stated mission of onboarding billions of people to the blockchain, while simultaneously overlooking the contributions of artists like himself who are actively building within that ecosystem.
“Iconically, @jessepollak has a goal of bringing billions of people on-chain with @base. However, as someone who builds on Base every day, and works at a company doing everything to get more people on-chain, on Base, I get my work ripped off without even getting a mention. And even more ironically, the mint that’s celebrating getting 1 billion transactions on @base, is a rip from someone who has contributed to getting hundreds of thousands, if not millions on TXs happening on @base. My original work that was ripped is literally minted on @base 😂”
I usually like it when someone recreates/remixes my work.
— Chris Biron (@biron_io) November 16, 2024
But when a 76 billion dollar corporation copies it, sells it, and gets $36k+ in profit without attributing me at all, it feels less fun. Thanks for supporting people in the space @base https://t.co/44q6L8FmPo
Base Responds Swiftly
Base responded swiftly to the allegations. Jesse Pollak, head of protocols at Coinbase, issued a public apology on X, stating, “we’re sorry — 100% of proceeds being redirected to you and refining our process to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Base also released an official statement acknowledging the unintentional mirroring of Biron’s work and promising to improve their internal processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The statement read, “Creativity often draws from a pool of shared inspiration, and while designing this piece we unintentionally mirrored the work of another artist without attribution. We’re sorry, and we’ll be sending 100% of the proceeds to @biron_io + improving our process to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Biron accepted Base’s apology, responding on X with, “Much respect and thanks for the apology. I completely understand there was no bad intent from your team. You’re a great leader for @base. Onwards and upwards, together 👊”
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Yona has no crypto positions and does not hold any crypto assets. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Daily is an official media and publication of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
