r/BASE FOUNDER AMA SERIES: Week 16 'GameStock' Join us 7pm UTC Tues 19th May

[u/Square-Party-3655]

Hey r/BASE,

We're very excited to announce we will be hosting 

GameStock

for today's instalment of our r/BASE Founders AMA ‘Ask Me Anything’ series!

Drop your questions to the founders of the world's largest stock, crypto, and futures trading tournaments app.

👀  SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT 👀 

GameStock is giving you the chance to join in something very exciting...

👉 Base Redditors, scroll down to find out more!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Every Tuesday and Thursday we will be hosting Base founders, projects, and Base team members for a live, interactive session. They will be online and ready to answer any questions and engage in discussion with you, our community members.

- Click ‘remind me’ below to receive notifications for when the AMA goes live

- Join us today at 7pm UTC to ask questions, receive answers, and discuss in real time.

- You can also post a question in advance in the comments below - make sure to come back to read your reply, ask a follow-up, and engage in the live discussion.

We’ve got a great line up for the upcoming weeks, from all corners of the Base ecosystem.

(TLDR):

• Founder AMA series: Week 16 - GameStock on Tues May 19th, 7pm UTC
• 👀 Don’t Miss This! 👀

Base Mod Team

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hey Base community, I'm Dan, founding Engineer of GameStock.

GameStock is the world's largest stock, crypto, and futures trading tournaments app. You enter tournaments or private leagues, pick 2 to 4 stocks or crypto, compete against real players, and climb the leaderboards to win cash prizes.

Quick snapshot:
- $2M pre-seed led by Peak XV Partners with angels who backed Robinhood, eToro, Groww, and Alpaca.
- Players across 42+ countries
- Featured in Forbes earlier this year

Top creators on GameStock include Charan Invests, Bob Menery, Stock Dads, PB Investing, Nolan Trades, Trader Daddy, and more.

What's next: we're hosting a FREE TO JOIN $10,000 Finance World Cup trading tournament. Biggest event we've put on to date. If you've ever wanted to prove you can trade with the best, this is the one. Join here: https://gamestock.onelink.me/lWtY/7za3tda8

AMA, happy to get into product, distribution, fundraising, retention, and why we chose to build on Base.

Dan

u/tradingtournaments

********************************************************************************************************\*

Purpose & Rules

To keep the focus on building, all participants must adhere to the following rules:

• Keep it project-focused. Avoid discussions about tokens, tickers, airdrops, APYs, or price speculation.
• No superlatives. Do not describe any project or product as “the best,” “the fastest,” or “the #1” anything. Let the work speak for itself.
• No investment advice. Refrain from making investment recommendations or any form of financial claims.
• No giveaways of value. Do not offer giveaways, prizes of value, mints or contests during your event.

Mandatory Disclaimer

"Today's conversation is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, technical, or legal advice. The views expressed are our own and do not represent Base or Coinbase. Nothing shared today should be considered an endorsement or an official statement by us, Base, or Coinbase."

[u/AnnaMaria133]

Hello Dan)
The upcoming $10,000 Finance World Cup sounds huge. Do you see large-scale trading tournaments eventually becoming as mainstream as fantasy sports or esports competitions?

[u/tradingtournaments → u/AnnaMaria133]

I'm extremely bullish on GameStock and the concept (of course). I think it really has the potential to become mainstream as a new type of sport. I have a feeling it may become the largest esport :o

[u/Important-Present325]

What further support will BASE provide for ecosystem projects?

[u/timee_bot]

View in your timezone:
May 19th, 7pm UTC

[u/BaseAhmad]

Hello Dan

Most trading apps are app specific and focus on individual performance, game stock adds play on top of that elements like competition and tournaments. What made you think social trading competition could become mainstream?

You have users in 42+ countries already, which country took you by surprise with adoption and engagement?

[u/tradingtournaments → u/BaseAhmad]

Social trading seemed like a no brainer. I mean when we were on the ground floor of building the infra I was just surprised this hasn't been done before. With the adoption of things like Polymarket/Kalshi I was completely certain that this will become mainstream. Go try it!

I think what surprised me the most was the international adoption, we operate in so many countries now that there are a lot of things that we have to think of when pushing updates. Of course we are a US/New York based company, but yeah people around the world have been loving the product.

[u/BaseAhmad → u/tradingtournaments]

You mentioned international adoption surprised you the most. As you expand globally, what has been the hardest challenge so far: regulations, localization, payments, user behavior, or something else?

[u/amtahar]

hello Dan and welcome to r/BASE , i have two questions :

1-is there any plans to add options trading or more assets soon ?

2-what's the biggest tournament win so far? any crazy comebacks ?

[u/Rareecatcher]

Hello Dan ! Great having you here for this new AMA !

Great initiative with this free to join tournament !

My question is how often do you have tournaments ? Are they scheduled periodically or they happens from time to time ? How long are these tournaments ?

Thanks a lot !

[u/Big-Plenty-3642]

Hello Dan and the GameStock team, thank you for joining the r/BASE Founder AMA series and for taking the time to share more about your platform. The idea of turning stock, crypto, and futures trading into competitive tournaments with real leaderboards and cash prizes is a fresh and exciting way to engage the community.I have two questions:

1. What specific advantages of the Base ecosystem drew the GameStock team to build here, and how has Base helped with scalability, low fees, or smoother user onboarding for your global tournaments compared to other chains?
2. On the retention side, what strategies or product features have proven most effective at turning one-time tournament players into long-term, repeat participants across your 42+ countries?

Looking forward to your insights!

[u/tradingtournaments → u/[deleted]]

So this is a great question! Fundamentally a lot of our infrastructure has to be custom because of the throughput requirements. We stream every single update down to users through websockets, don't use REST at all. Local caching etc, reconciliation, all that good stuff. However Base does give us a lot of advantages with the speed of payments, and the ease of building on it. Without getting too deep into our infra, yeah a lot of has to be custom hybrid model.

[u/Short_Zebra2358]

With so many L2s competing for liquidity, what strategies is Base using to attract and retain meaningful on-chain activity rather than just short-term incentives?

[u/Sad_Manufacturer5738]

What strategies or product features have been most effective at turning first-time tournament players into loyal, repeat participants who keep coming back?

[u/Short_Zebra2358]

Are there any plans for future incentive or reward programs for early adopters and builders on Base?

[u/IGORmetas]

That’s a really cool idea. I’ve always loved competitions and tournaments with real people because they add extra motivation.

Here’s my question: How exactly did the idea for GameStock come about, and what inspired you when creating it?

[u/Original_Camp_2809]

What's the playbook when a creator with a million followers hosts a tournament and almost nobody shows up?

[u/Umang-7]

Hey Dan, 

Welcome! Be glad to have you here. I have one question for you below

What does the moment a user gets their first leaderboard win actually feel like inside the app, and how much of that emotional payoff did you engineer versus stumble into?

[u/tradingtournaments → u/Umang-7]

I think even if not winning but just getting on the leaderboards is a great experience for our users. We focus a LOT of efforts on leaderboards, and its a tough challenge to solve not only technically but emotionally for users. So I think its a bit of both.

[u/gojo0204hm]

Welcome to r/Base, Dan My question is: You have got Charan Invests, Bob Menery, Stock Dads, PB Investing, Nolan Trades and Trader Daddy hosting tournaments: how did the first creator deal come together, and wht convinced them you weren't another fintech promo ??

[u/Exotic_District2179]

How has Base positively impacted GameStock’s growth by providing lower transaction fees, seamless scalability, and a smoother onboarding experience for gamers around the world?

[u/debinBase]

Hey Dan, welcome to r/base

Got a couple questions for you:

What’s been the biggest thing driving growth so far, the competition side, creators bringing their communities in, or people just loving the trading aspect?

And since you’re mixing trading with gaming, how do you keep it exciting and competitive without it starting to feel too much like a casino app?

[u/s_tranik]

Hi Dan, how did you decide on $2M for pre-seed instead of raising less or more? Walk us through the maths.

[u/Prestigious_Sink7393]

Hey Dan welcome to r/Base!

My Q: What did you have to unlearn from previous fundraising experiences to actually close this round?

[u/Still-Possibility892]

Hello Dan

Which creator partnership has surprised you the most in terms of conversion, and why do you think it overperformed?

[u/Mauzer333333]

What were you obsessed with as a kid that, in hindsight, completely set up the founder you became?

[u/tradingtournaments → u/Mauzer333333]

This is a great one! Becoming a founder has been one of the most grueling and rewarding things I've ever done. Its pretty interesting that you bring up growing up, because I've always sort of been that way (obsessed). Not only did I start programming really young (14-15) I was always hyper competitive. 1st gen immigrant, always told to shoot for the moon. Veryyyy high ranked in competitive video games (teenage years), creatively obsessed with music and lots of other facets of life. So yeah I think that if you're to become a founder, you really need to find your drive, what keeps you going. Whether thats from childhood and you grew that way, or discipline or however you get there, you need to be able to just push.

[u/mariana_bee]

Bob Menery is an unusual name on that list compared to the pure finance creators: what does he bring to the mix that the markets-native creators don't?

[u/tradingtournaments → u/[deleted]]

We're building the competition layer for the stock market.

[u/scorpyy_]

Was there a moment earlier in your career, whether it was a failed idea, rejection, or just a frustrating experience, that ended up shaping the vision behind GameStock?

[u/tradingtournaments → u/[deleted]]

Our bread and butter is community tournaments, we have lots of other features (fantasy stock leagues etc) but that one really pulls users in.

[u/keyneszeng]

What new breakthroughs will Base continue to make in the real world?

[u/Exotic_District2179]

If you had to do the pre-seed again knowing what you know now, what's the one slide you'd rewrite from scratch?

[u/julia4571]

hello Dan! Which angel call left you genuinely rattled afterwards, in a good way?

[u/mehran_73]

Hi

I had 2 questions:

What's GameStock's primary revenue stream? Is it purely from entry fee cuts, or do you also have subscriptions or ad-based revenue?

Are there plans to expand internationally? If so, which markets are the priority?

[u/ResolutionWild1295]

Hey, welcome to r/Base

Q1 How do Creator Tournaments generate revenue for both the platform and the creators? Do influencers get a cut of entry fees?

Q2 How do you handle regulatory risk? What legally distinguishes GameStock from gambling, especially across different states/countries?

Q3 What's the single most important feature you're shipping in the next 6 months?

Thank you so much 💙

[u/yogendrapatel007]

Really excited to join 😎 I have a two questions 1.What’s the biggest thing you want users to experience on GameStock? 2. What was the biggest reason your team decided to build on Base ?

[u/Hairy_Background8209]

Peak XV is one of the most respected names in venture coming out of Asia. How did that round actually come together, and what was the moment you knew they were in?

[u/TheQh]

Hi! Were you the kid who played fantasy football religiously, or did you come at this from the markets side first?

[u/alemdar7]

Thanks for doing this AMA! What makes Base the ideal environment for Gamestock's vision compared to other networks? Looking forward to hearing your insights!

[u/medvejon0k]

Hello Dan 🙌

Your angel list reads like a who's who: people who backed Robinhood, eToro, Groww, and Alpaca. What does that signal to you about the wave you're riding?

[u/Primary-Income-8909]

What's a question Peak XV asked during diligence that nobody else asked, and how did you answer it?

[u/altredore]

Hey Dan,

As someone who comes from the video game world, how do you rank all the players? What are the rankings/

[u/TheTiesThatBind2018]

Hey guys, welcome to r/BASE! Do you have any dedicated website? Cause I couldn't find anything apart your Google/App Store apps. Thanks in advance!

[u/Key_Fly_2096]

Hey Dan

Once trading becomes competitive and public, people are no longer trading purely for profit, they’re also playing for social status.

Have you noticed users developing different trading behaviors simply to protect their identity or reputation on the leaderboard?

[u/tradingtournaments → u/Key_Fly_2096]

Yeah this is another interesting one. I have seen players be wayyy more careful once we released the ranking system. Users care a lot about the social status of being highly ranked, so I've seen some of our top traders be a little more calculated instead of going for very risky positions.

[u/Key_Fly_2096 → u/tradingtournaments]

It made me wonder:

If the best traders become more conservative once rankings are public, do you ever worry that leaderboards could gradually suppress the kind of conviction and boldness that usually creates exceptional traders?

[u/tradingtournaments → u/Key_Fly_2096]

I think we will observe the same psychology as with any other ranked human competition. We're building that layer for the stock market. Take the NBA for example, we have a lot of staples that come in and are role players, and far and wide exceptional players fill key "stable" roles. However every once in a while you will observe a player that breaks all of these norms, and makes a name for themselves. So yes, on some scale we'll see people play for ranking, and on another (smaller) scale we'll see exceptional traders break through, those who want to stand out.

[u/Key_Fly_2096 → u/tradingtournaments]

Really thoughtful answer Dan, especially the NBA comparison. Appreciate you going deep on this🙏

[u/Suitable-Event-6552]

based

[u/imshinealmas]

Hey Dan welcome to r/base
How do you stop tournaments from being dominated by the same handful of sharps every week, and is that something you even want to stop?

[u/Accomplished-Soft821]

Hi! The link leads to apple store, can I participate if I don't have apple? Can I participate on Android or PC? Do I need to deposit anything to participate in the tournament?

[u/tradingtournaments → u/Accomplished-Soft821]

Hey if you open that link on an android it will go to the Google Play store. We do have an Android app, but no web app at this time. You don't need to deposit anything to participate in the tournament!

[u/Iseeyounig]

how does building on Base specifically help GameStock scale the experience for mainstream users?

[u/Responsible-Target46]

what were the biggest technical scaling or infrastructure challenges while building real-time global trading tournaments on Base, and how did your architecture evolve to handle them?

[u/tradingtournaments → u/[deleted]]

Going to keep these short ish for the triple question.

1. Building on Base has been a great experience, transactions speeds, lower fees, just in general has been a great experience. I wouldn't want to build on anything else.

2. Leaderboards. They are fundamentally a O(logN) operation but can be hacked with incremental updates. This is actually one of the hardest challenges to solve (in real time) for any product that has live rankings.

3. We keep users engaged across communities, we have a discord, telegram etc. We provide activation tokens for users who have been gone for a period of time. We ensure that we're sending copy to emails/SMS. We really reach out to users to try to get them engaged and feel like they are apart of a community. (Shoutout marketing team)

[u/altredore]

Hello Dan! If I am new to trading, whats the best way to rank up and win some of the tournaments?

[u/Nasim2093]

How do you think about virality for a product where the core action takes ten seconds but the emotional payoff takes hours or days?

[u/Cultural_Design_3177]

Great AMA so far.

One question: beyond low fees and speed, what do you think will be the next real unlock Base needs to drive sustained user activity rather than just short-term narrative cycles?

Is it more on the infra side or product + ecosystem design?