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📅 August 11, 2025 · 🕒 06:38 AM EDT |
KIS-47: The Base App Is The Onchain On‑Ramp
5 min read
Hey Reader,
Note from the editor
🎉 Welcome to Issue #47 of the keepitasatoshi.com newsletter, where we examine the top crypto asset projects and their communities.
Last issue I walked through why I run most of my activity on BASE. The obvious follow-up is this: how does a normal person actually live onchain without juggling 12 apps, 5 bridges, and endless seed phrases?
Short answer: the Base app. Coinbase Wallet evolved into an everything app built on open protocols: social, identity, payments, and trading in one place. This is the missing piece for mass adoption.
Stay curious, stay informed, and as always, #KeepItASatoshi!
KB
Why the Base App Changes the Game
Most wallets are great for crypto natives and terrible for everyone else. New users hit three walls: confusing sign-ins, fragmented apps, and scary bridge flows. If you want billions of people onchain, those walls have to disappear.
This is crypto's AOL moment.
The Base app’s feed runs on Farcaster and integrates Zora so creators can post and earn. This way every post can become a coin that anyone can collect or trade (Zora overview). That flips the model: your content is now portable and monetizable by default.
Trading where people already are
You can discover tokens and trade without leaving the feed. On BASE, that means seamless swaps and liquidity via protocols like Aerodrome, a DEX built for the ecosystem with deep pairs, routing, and low fees. The now means the market comes to users, not the other way around.
Coinbase app will meet you in the middle
For people who never open a wallet, the main Coinbase app is integrating DEX trading, unlocking access to millions of assets with direct onchain execution inside a familiar interface.
How I’m Using It Right Now
- Pin Aerodrome inside the Base app for quick easy access to liquidity pools.
- Collect a few Zora posts each week to support creators.
- Keep everyday payments simple: send USDC on BASE and if I need fiat, I route to Coinbase instantly.
- Guardrails: only leverage apps the Base App supports directly, avoid thin-liquidity memes, and test exits before size.
Try This In 10 Minutes
- Create a Coinbase account if you haven't already.
- Join the Base app waitlist (Base).
- Download the current Base App from your favorite App Store.
- Fund with USDC or cbBTC/ETH from Coinbase.
- Do one action: swap on Aerodrome, collect on Zora, or send USDC to a friend.
- Run an exit test: USDC → Coinbase → your bank. Time it.
The Foundation Most People Skip
The Base app only “clicks” when you understand how we got here and what’s under the hood: smart accounts, DEX routing, L2 settlement, and custody trade-offs. That’s exactly why I built Understanding Blockchain & Digital Assets.
The course covers:
- How Layer 2s and rollups actually scale Ethereum and their trade‑offs (Layer 2 Introduction, Rollups Deep Dive, Layer 2 Reality)
- DEX trading fundamentals: routing, slippage, liquidity, LP risks (DEXs & Uniswap; DeFi Wallets & Risks)
- Wallet and security basics for the Base app: setup, custody choices, hardware keys (Base App Setup; Choosing Your Crypto Wallet; Ledger Nano X)
- The primitives behind today’s UX: smart contracts and stablecoins (What Smart Contracts Actually Are; Stablecoins)
Stop learning crypto from random videos. Build the foundation that makes onchain apps make sense.
Get the fundamentals right first.
📢 We Want to Hear From You!
Are you on the Base app waitlist? Collected anything on Zora yet? Tried an Aerodrome swap? Hit reply and tell me what surprised you.
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. Onchain apps carry risk (smart contract, liquidity, regulatory). Never invest more than you can afford to lose.