Redeeming $BASED with "Base Introduced" NFTs
When the testnet of Base was first launched in February 2023, the Layer 2 (L2) scaling solution's team released a commemorative NFT mint, Base Introduced.
It was a free, celebratory mint to kick off the arrival of Base, and celebrate people did: the open edition was collected more than 485,000 times by over 370,000 wallets, making it one of the most widely distributed NFTs ever so far!
Of course, Base hasn't released a native token or announced any official plans to yet, but demand for exposure to Base and its growing community is significant right now.
That's why a new effort spearheaded by Garrett Skrovina is using the Base Introduced NFTs as a proxy for creating an unofficial Base token—an ERC-20 named $BASED—that will launch on the L2 in August 2024.
It's an interesting onchain experiment (Want a Base token? Do it yourself!), so let's walk through the basics in case you're interested in diving in and redeeming a $BASED allocation.
A proxy Base token
"Based as a meme hasn’t been effectively proliferated through a memecoin. Based as a term and a concept has deep roots in pop culture. It’s simple. It’s stupid. It’s based." — Garrett Skrovina
$BASED is an "experiment in permissionless interoperability" because it's being launched via Base assets, i.e. Base Introduced NFTs, without official involvement from the Coinbase or Base teams.
The goal? Create an engaging and fun token that embodies the positive spirit of the Base community in grassroots fashion. It's designed to be entertainment and a social instrument rather than an investment.
That said, if you're a holder of any Base Introduced NFTs, or are interested in sweeping the collection's ~$10 floor, you can participate in the project's phased redemption periods. Here's what you need to know:
- ⏱️ 3 redemption phases: Phase 1 (July 12th-26th) lets you redeem NFTs to claim a minimum of 500,000 $BASED per NFT. In Phase 2 (July 27th-August 7th), this minimum claim drops to 250,000 $BASED per NFT. This number drops further to 25,000 $BASED in Phase 3 (beginning August 13th), when the token finally becomes claimable.
- ✅ Verifying allocations: Visit the $BASED redemption site, basedevo.fun, and connect your wallet. Use the homepage to select your NFT(s) and verify your allocation. Press "Evolve" and complete the transaction on Base to register your holdings. Then you can return to the site during Phase 3 to finally claim your $BASED tokens.
- 🧮 Supply to be determined: The total supply of $BASED isn't set yet and will be based on the number of NFTs redeemed during the redemption periods. Regardless of the final sum, 50% of the supply will be allocated to redeemers, 35% for liquidity provision, 10% for future airdrops, and 5% for later experiments. Note the official contract address, watch out for imposters.
- 🔎 Use the token checker: Each Base Introduced NFT can only be redeemed once for $BASED, so if you want to participate but didn't mint back in the day, you can buy from secondary listings on OpenSea. Just be sure to use the ID verification tool on basedevo.fun to ensure the NFT in your cart hasn't already been redeemed!
Again, yes, $BASED is an experiment. It doesn't have a grandiose roadmap, but it's targeting good vibes and its possibilities and participation are wide open. If you have an old Base Introduced NFT lying around, it's a low-stakes opportunity in the very least, something to opt into and track going forward if you'd like.
For now, follow the project on X or on Farcaster to stay current with its latest updates. And if you do redeem your NFT and claim $BASED, keep in mind that you might want to hold that NFT in your redeeming wallet until further notice, as the Based team has said they will "likely take this into account in future airdrops or allowlists."