Base Aims to Become Default Infrastructure for Global Onchain Economy

Saumya Saxena, Global Builders Lead at Base (Coinbase), shared her journey from initially disbelieving in crypto to becoming deeply involved in the ecosystem. She discussed Base's vision for the global onchain economy and its focus on local-currency stablecoins that could change everyday payments.

Base plans to expand into global markets, focusing on payments and stablecoins by 2026. The Beryl upgrade and B20 are part of this strategy, aiming to bring institutional onchain finance to the forefront. Saxena believes Base needs its own infrastructure to support its growth.

The interview touched on India's massive opportunity for crypto and blockchain builders. Saxena emphasized that Indian developers need to focus on distribution, storytelling, and users. She also discussed the future of onchain social and consumer crypto, AI + crypto (Agentic Finance), and tokenization of real-world assets.

Saxena believes the industry should move beyond the 'crypto native' label, focusing on practical use cases and better storytelling to improve adoption. Base aims to become the default infrastructure for the global onchain economy, with India potentially becoming one of its most important builder markets.