Upcoming Coinbase events on December 17th-18th present several short-term trading opportunities centered around the Base ecosystem. Consider buying Zora (ZORA), the core infrastructure for the expected creator coin launch, which has strong support near $0.04 and a potential target of $0.10. Monad is another potential trade, as its 30-day post-ICO holding period ends around the event, with its ICO price of $0.025 acting as key support. For a lower-risk approach, purchasing Coinbase stock (COIN) offers direct exposure to the success of these company announcements. Another project to watch is Virtuals (VIRTUALS), which benefits from both the Base and AI narratives and has strong technical support around $0.70.

Monad

• Monad was the first-ever ICO (Initial Coin Offering) hosted on Coinbase that was available to US retail investors, with the token sale occurring from November 17th to 22nd at a price of $0.025.
• Coinbase implemented an "anti-flipping" rule for this sale. Users who sell their tokens less than 30 days after listing may receive smaller allocations in future Coinbase ICOs.
• The 30-day holding period for Monad participants concludes right around December 17th, the date of the major Coinbase event.
• The speaker speculates that Coinbase may announce its next ICO around this time and will reward Monad holders who did not sell with larger allocations, creating an incentive to hold or buy the token.
• The speaker believes Coinbase has a vested interest in ensuring its first ICO participants do not lose money, as it would damage the reputation of their new ICO platform.
• The price peaked at $0.05 (a 2x from ICO price) and has since traded around the ICO price, currently sitting at $0.03.

Takeaways

• Bullish Sentiment: The upcoming Coinbase event and the 30-day holding period create a strong catalyst for Monad.
• Key Price Level: The ICO price of $0.025 is seen as a strong support level. The speaker suggests that any entry close to this price is a good opportunity, as Coinbase is incentivized to keep the price above this level for at least the next month.
• Trade Idea: This is presented as a short-term trade based on the December 17th event. The thesis is that Coinbase will support the price to build confidence in its new ICO platform.

Zora (ZORA)

• Coinbase's Base chain is hosting an event on December 18th with the theme "It's time to create on Base."
• The speaker believes this will be the public launch of the BaseApp, a social media-like application focused on "creator coins" and "content tokens."
• All creator and content coins on the BaseApp are built using Zora's infrastructure.
• A significant portion of the fees (50% was mentioned) generated from these creator coins flows into the Zora ecosystem. Trading pairs for these new coins are also paired against Zora.
• The price chart for Zora shows a clear support level around $0.04.

Takeaways

• Bullish Sentiment: Zora is positioned as the primary infrastructure play for the launch of the BaseApp's creator economy. A public launch is expected to drive significant activity and value to the Zora token.
• Trade Idea: The speaker has taken a long position with a clear trade setup.
  • Entry/Support: The range around $0.04 is considered a strong support level.
  • Target/Resistance: The target is the previous month's highs around $0.10.
  • Timeline: The trade is centered around the December 18th event. The plan is to sell into the hype before the event or shortly after the announcement.

Coinbase Stock (COIN)

• Buying Coinbase stock is presented as the most straightforward and lowest-risk way to invest in the potential success of the upcoming announcements on December 17th-18th.
• The stock price is also noted to be heavily correlated with the price of Bitcoin (BTC). A bounce in Bitcoin's price would likely lead to a bounce in COIN's price.

Takeaways

• Lower-Risk Play: For investors who want exposure to the Coinbase event but wish to avoid the volatility of altcoins, COIN stock is the recommended option.
• Dual Catalyst: The investment is supported by two potential catalysts: a positive announcement from the company event and a potential recovery in the price of Bitcoin.

Virtuals (VIRTUALS)

• Virtuals is described as the number one AI infrastructure project on the Base blockchain.
• The speaker has an open position in Virtuals, believing it benefits from two major narratives: the Base ecosystem and AI.
• The price chart shows strong technical support around $0.70 (from the "10/10 crash"), with a potential target at the summer highs of $2.30.

Takeaways

• Bullish Sentiment: This is a play on two popular investment themes. The upcoming Base event could act as a short-term catalyst.
• Trade Idea: The speaker is holding the position through the event but may take profits if the price rallies significantly into December 17th-18th due to general market conditions. The $0.70 level is a key area of support to watch.

Jesse Creator Coin (JESSE)

• This is the official creator coin of Jesse Pollack, the co-founder of the Base chain and an executive at Coinbase.
• It is considered a low-market-cap coin ($10 million) but has relatively stable liquidity.
• The speaker notes that creator coins have historically failed, so for Coinbase's new initiative to succeed, they need their "flagship" creator coin (from their own executive) to perform well.

Takeaways

• Speculative Bullish ("Degen" Play): This is a high-risk, high-reward trade. The investment thesis is that Coinbase is incentivized to ensure this coin does not fail, to set a positive example for the entire BaseApp creator ecosystem.
• Catalyst: The public launch of the BaseApp on December 18th is expected to bring a wave of interest to this coin.
• Timeline: This is a very short-term trade. The speaker does not plan to hold it long-term and intends to take profit on any rally leading into or just after the event.

Aerodrome (AERO)

• While Aerodrome is the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) on Base, the speaker's sentiment is not positive for this specific event.
• Risk Factors Mentioned:
  • Aerodrome is pivoting to also support the Ethereum mainnet, meaning it will no longer be exclusive to the Base ecosystem.
  • The new creator coins on the BaseApp are using Uniswap for their liquidity pools, not Aerodrome.
  • From a technical perspective, the price is in a downtrend and is far from clear support levels, making a trade setup difficult.

Takeaways

• Neutral/Bearish Sentiment: The speaker sees this as the "least clear" trade in the Base ecosystem and is not taking a position.
• Actionable Insight: For those already holding AERO, the speaker suggests considering taking profits around the December 18th event, as it may see a temporary price bump from general ecosystem hype.

Optimism (OP)

• Base is built using Optimism's technology (the "OP Stack").
• However, the speaker argues that there is no value accrual to the OP token from Base's success. The revenue generated by Base flows to Coinbase, not to the Optimism token.

Takeaways

• Bearish Sentiment: The speaker explicitly states they would sell, not buy, the OP token as a way to bet on the Base ecosystem's growth. It is not considered a valid proxy investment for this event.

Zcash (ZEC)

• The speaker was previously bullish on Zcash but has since closed their position.
• The price has broken below a key support level around $400, indicating a breakdown in its trend.

Takeaways

• Bearish Sentiment: The technical picture for ZEC is no longer positive. The speaker would not buy Zcash at current levels.
• Potential Short: The previous support level, now resistance, in the $420-$430 range could be a potential area to open a short position if the price rallies back to it.