Ethereum Layer 2 network Blast is set to shut down later this month after a sharp decline in network activity and revenue made the scaling network too costly to maintain.
Launched in early 2024 by Tieshun “Pacman” Roquerre, the founder of the NFT marketplace Blur, Blast arrived with backing from crypto venture capital firm Paradigm. Ahead of its mainnet launch, the network attracted significant attention by teasing incentives, drawing users to stake $2.3 billion worth of crypto into a bridge from Ethereum. However, the network struggled to maintain traction amid competition in the Layer 2 sector from alternatives such as the Coinbase-backed Base.
On Friday, the network announced its closure on X, stating that the ongoing costs of operating the chain exceed the revenue generated, with no credible path to economic sustainability.
According to Defillama data, total value locked in Blast-based protocols fell from a peak above $2.2 billion in June 2024 to approximately $32 million. Fee revenue experienced a similar collapse, dropping from $3.66 million in June 2024 to just over $2,000 last month.
Following the announcement, the native BLAST token dropped by more than 32% in a single day to a price of $0.00028, bringing its market capitalization below $20 million. The token is now down 99% from its peak price of nearly $0.03 set in 2024.
Developers have urged users to withdraw their assets back to the Ethereum mainnet by a soft deadline of October 26. After that date, transfers will only be accessible via direct bridge contract interactions rather than the Blast web interface, though the team plans to release further instructions beforehand.
“I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to make the chain sustainable over the long term, but I’m grateful to the users, developers, and teams who helped give Blast its moment, even if its run was shorter than we had hoped,” co-founder Roquerre wrote on X.
