Coinbase and Solana execs clash over network downtimes from inauguration weekend TRUMP frenzy

Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helium Labs, a group that describes itself as Solana’s top RPCs, APIs, data, nodes, and developer support, called out Coinbase executives on the social media platform, X. Mumtaz criticized them for statements that he perceived to be attempts to position Base as a superior network to Solana. 

The past weekend has been one of the busiest for crypto this year. The launch of the TRUMP and MELANIA tokens sparked a frenzy among users as the memecoins quickly amassed historic market cap valuations in record time. 

The values of the tokens have fallen by 50% since then. The surge in activity led to network congestion and transaction delays.

As the memecoin frenzy settles, Coinbase’s Jesse Pollak and Helius Labs’ Mert Mumtaz have also found the time for a social media exchange that got heated quickly but was ultimately resolved graciously. 

Blockchain executives clash publicly 

Following the launch of the $TRUMP and $MELANIA memecoins, the Coinbase exchange and Solana networks experienced substantial congestion that led to transaction delays of up to 21 hours. 

In a post on his X social media account, Mumtaz pointed out how he found it ironic that Coinbase executives were putting Solana down when they failed to handle Solana transactions during “crypto’s biggest weekend.” 

The CEO went further to accuse Base of using “backroom tactics” to lure users from Solana to Base. He even implied that they often told teams behind closed doors that Base is a long-term solution while Solana is a short-term fix. 

Jesse Pollak, head of Coinbase’s base initiative, responded directly to Mumtaz’s claims. “I am the founder of Base, and it’s my job to make Base successful,” Pollak wrote. 

In a series of tweets, Pollak noted the efforts of the Coinbase executive team to address and resolve the scaling challenges. He also acknowledged that while Base does compete with Solana, it is the kind of healthy competition that encourages growth and innovation in the crypto space. 

Mumtaz ended the exchange graciously by emphasizing that competition should be honest and transparent without undermining the work of thousands of Solana builders. 

“As long as we agree to compete honestly without false virtue signaling and backroom tactics — I am on board with that. Best of luck and let’s have some fun pushing crypto forward,” he wrote.

Network congestion and transaction delays

On January 18 and 19, President and First Lady Trump launched their memecoins, TRUMP and MELANIA. 

The tokens went live on the Solana network and unsurprisingly drew a surge of activity as users raced to join the buying frenzy. This surge attracted over 200,000 new on-chain users through Moonshot. It caused network congestion and transaction delays, with some Coinbase users being unable to complete their transactions for up to four days.

In response to the outrage and chaos that ensued due to the delays, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong reassured users that the team was working around the clock to scale Coinbase’s infrastructure to better support Solana. 

Despite the congestion, Solana’s network maintained 100% functionality, indicating that the delays were only due to the influx of users and had nothing to do with the blockchain itself. 

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