I love Base, but there's something happening in this ecosystem that I think we seriously need to talk about. 🙏🥹 Are we supporting original builders, or are we just supporting whoever gets the spotlight? Let me share two examples. 👇 1. BASEPAD vs. OPENLAUNCH 👀 Today, I posted about @basepadsi because I genuinely liked its 95% creator fee model. But the replies completely changed my perspective. Several people pointed out that Basepad appears to be a fork of @openlaunch_lol, an existing open-source launchpad. So I did some digging. OpenLaunch has already achieved: • $14M+ in trading volume across its supported chains. • 4,500+ token launches. • Zero platform fees. • Permanently locked liquidity. And now here's the part that really caught my attention. Kevin (@kevincodex), the builder behind OpenLaunch, publicly shared that he applied for Base Batches but wasn't selected. He then discovered that a project he describes as a fork of his work was receiving support from Base. Imagine spending your time building something from scratch, making it open-source, generating millions in volume, and then watching a fork receive the recognition you've been working toward. To be clear, forking is perfectly fine. That's the beauty of open-source development. But shouldn't we also recognize the people who built the original? 2. THE PAMPU / BASECAT STORY 🐱 This isn't the first time I've had concerns about recognition in the Base ecosystem. Remember $PAMPU? It was an early B20 meme coin built around @ProfessorCornel cat, Pampu under the name The Base Cat. It wasn't just another random meme. The community reportedly achieved: • $2.2M all-time-high market cap. • 3,000+ traders. • 1,800+ holders. People from outside the Base ecosystem were joining the community, too. Then, about a month later, another token called $BASECAT launched through o1.exchange. That token attracted significantly more attention, with its market cap eventually climbing to approximately $80M. Both projects were built on Base, but their visibility and market outcomes were dramatically different. I'm not claiming the projects are identical or that Base created the later token. But the contrast raises a question worth discussing: are early, independent creators getting the recognition they deserve when similar projects attract much bigger audiences? HERE'S WHAT I WANT TO SAY TO @base AND @jessepollak. Please don't let popularity, connections, or existing influence become the only things that determine which builders get noticed. A good idea shouldn't need to come from a well-connected team to deserve attention. A builder with 500 followers can create something genuinely valuable. A founder working alone can build a product that thousands of people use. And an original project shouldn't be forgotten just because a newer alternative becomes more popular. I'm not asking Base to stop promoting forks, competing products, or new meme coins. I'm asking for fair opportunities, proper attribution, transparent promotion, and more recognition for the people who put in the work. As an independent builder working on @Deployza, I know how much time, effort, and dedication it takes to build something from nothing. And I'm sure thousands of other builders feel the same. We keep building because we believe in this ecosystem. But builders also need to feel that their contributions matter. Base shouldn't be a place where you need to know the right people to get noticed. It should be a place where your work can speak for itself. I genuinely love Base, and that's exactly why I'm raising this concern. Let's celebrate new projects without forgetting the people who came before them. Let's give independent builders a real opportunity to shine. And let's make sure the next generation of builders feels encouraged to create something original. Because Base is for everyone. 💙 Still day one. Still building. 🫡