Coinbase-backed Zora rides viral momentum with a token drop announcement, but allegations of insider trading stir controversy.
Zora, an onchain social media platform backed by Coinbase, is set to launch its native token, ZORA, on April 23. The announcement follows a week of intense activity and viral traction on X (formerly Twitter), largely driven by support from the Base network team and its creator, Jesse Pollack.
The token airdrop will be based on two snapshot periods:
- January 1, 2020 – March 3, 2025
- March 3 – April 20, 2025
These snapshots capture blockchain activity and will determine who qualifies for the token distribution.
Viral Hype and Content Coin Craze
Zora gained rapid popularity last week after Pollack promoted the idea of “content coins” — tradable tokens representing text or images. His tweets triggered a surge in interest, resulting in record-breaking activity on the platform, including over 230,000 new traders in a single day.
One such token, “Base is for everyone,” went from a few thousand dollars in market cap to over $17 million within hours after Base’s official X account promoted it.
Insider Trading Accusations Emerge
The explosive rise of the “Base is for everyone” token drew scrutiny when blockchain analysts found that three wallets had purchased the token before its public promotion, netting a combined profit of $666,000. This led to accusations of insider trading and claims that the promotion was a coordinated pump.
Coinbase later clarified that the token is not an official Base asset and denied direct involvement in the token sale.
Community Divided Over Intentions
X users quickly accused the project of orchestrating a “hype-driven dump” to benefit insiders, with some calling it a clever marketing scheme. One trader commented, “So it was literally an airdrop shill to create hype and liquidity for a dump of supply controlled by Coinbase Ventures? Got it.”
Despite the backlash, Jesse Pollack denied that the campaign was a coordinated marketing stunt and maintained that Zora’s growth was organic.
