Base just dropped a bombshell by selecting only 12 teams from over 1,100 applicants for its Cohort 003 in the Base Batches program. These builders dive into AI, DeFi, payments, and prediction markets over seven intense weeks, culminating in a high-stakes Demo Day in San Francisco where they pitch to top investors. Jesse Pollak, the force behind Base, shared the news on X, highlighting a rigorous selection process that sifts through innovation to spotlight game-changers.

From Overwhelmed Applications to Onchain Breakthroughs

This cohort builds on Base's momentum from the past year, where previous batches fueled onchain adoption amid Ethereum's scaling wars. Recall how Cohort 002 in late 2025 sparked DeFi protocols that integrated AI for smarter yield farming, pushing transaction volumes up 40% on the network. Now, with Ethereum's price action signaling resilience, Base positions itself as the launchpad for the next wave of decentralized apps, blending historical Ethereum upgrades like Dencun with fresh builder energy.

Ethereum's 4-hour chart paints a nuanced picture for institutional traders eyeing Base's ecosystem plays. Price action holds firm at $2209.15, buoyed by a bullish trend structure where the 50-period EMA at $2132.87 acts as immediate support, reinforced by the 200-period EMA at $2080.16 as a deeper backstop. Yet, the MACD's bearish death cross at 28.83 flashes caution, suggesting short-term momentum wanes even as RSI lingers neutral at 60.64, avoiding overbought extremes. Confluence builds with price trading snugly inside Bollinger Bands, testing the upper resistance at $2286.93 as a volatility exhaustion point—expect a tactical pullback to that 50-EMA support before bulls regroup for continuation, especially if Base's cohort announcements ignite fresh capital inflows.

Investors watch closely as this program could accelerate Base's role in Ethereum's layer-2 dominance, with past cohorts yielding unicorns in prediction markets that rival traditional finance tools.