Greetings
Jesse Pollak
Jesse Pollak is Coinbase's Head of Base and the creator of the Ethereum L2 network Base.
Oakland, United States
About
Jesse Pollak is a technology executive and the Head of Base at Coinbase, where he leads the Base blockchain and its ecosystem. He is also listed by Coinbase as VP, Engineering. Pollak created Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 network incubated by Coinbase, and led its development through its 2023 mainnet launch. His background spans blockchain infrastructure, consumer engineering, product development, and software engineering. Before creating Base, he led consumer-facing engineering at Coinbase and later worked on protocol strategy. He joined Coinbase after the acquisition of Clef, a passwordless identity startup he co-founded. His current work focuses on Base infrastructure, onchain applications, and the growth of the Base ecosystem. Quick Facts about Jesse Pollak: Field Details Full Name Jesse Pollak Current Position Head of Base Corporate Title VP, Engineering, Coinbase Current Company Coinbase Current Focus Base blockchain, trading, financing, payments, and ecosystem development Previous Leadership Coinbase consumer/retail engineering; Coinbase protocols Founder Experience Co-Founder of Clef; Creator of Base Previous Companies BuzzFeed, Clef Education Pomona College Degree Computer Science studies; exact completed degree status is inconsistently reported Major Product / Project Base Previous Products Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Wallet Career Overview of Jesse Pollak: Jesse Pollak began his technology career as an engineer at BuzzFeed before co-founding Clef, a startup focused on passwordless identity. Coinbase acquired Clef in 2017, bringing Pollak into the company, where he initially worked on brokerage engineering and later led consumer-facing engineering across Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, and Coinbase Wallet. He moved into protocol leadership in 2021 before creating Base in 2022. Base launched its mainnet in 2023. In 2024, Pollak joined Coinbase's executive team while taking responsibility for Base and Coinbase Wallet. In 2026, he returned his primary focus to the Base blockchain. Career Timeline: Year Career Development Before 2013 BuzzFeed: Worked as an engineer before moving into startup entrepreneurship. 2013 Clef: Co-founded Clef with Mark Hudnall and Brennen Byrne. The company developed passwordless identity technology using mobile phones for authentication. 2013–2017 Clef: Helped build and operate the passwordless identity startup before its acquisition by Coinbase. Pollak described Clef as a five-year company in his 2017 Coinbase announcement. 2017 Coinbase: Joined Coinbase following the acquisition of Clef and initially became Engineering Manager of the Brokerage team working on Coinbase.com. 2017–2021 Coinbase Consumer / Retail Engineering: Led consumer-facing engineering, including work on Coinbase, Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Wallet. 2021 Coinbase Protocols: Moved into protocol leadership, working on Ethereum L1, L2 and related onchain initiatives. 2022 Base: Created Base as a Coinbase-incubated Ethereum Layer 2 project. 2023 Base: Led Base through its mainnet launch. Base announced that its mainnet became available to everyone in August 2023. 2024 Coinbase Executive Team: Took responsibility for both Base and Coinbase Wallet and joined Coinbase's executive team. 2026 Base: Stepped back from leading the consumer Base App and refocused on Base as blockchain infrastructure, with current emphasis on trading, financing, and payments.
Experience
Other
Clef
Jul 2012 to Feb 2017
Co-founder
Other
hackNY
May 2012 to Aug 2012
Fellow
Other
BuzzFeed
May 2012 to Aug 2012
Software Engineering Intern
FAQs
- Jesse Pollak is a Coinbase technology executive and the creator and current Head of Base. He leads Base, Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2 network, and has previously led Coinbase consumer engineering and protocol initiatives.