$20M Layer-2 Network Blast Shuts Down Amid Unprofitable Operations

Blast, an Ethereum layer-2 network, is shutting down due to unsustainable operating economics. The protocol, which raised $20 million from Paradigm and Standard Crypto in November 2023, will cease operations on October 26. Blast's shutdown affects its users, who must withdraw their assets before the deadline.

The decision comes nearly three years after Blast launched with a mainnet launch planned for February 2024. The protocol's design is based on an Ethereum-compatible optimistic rollup that passes yield from ETH staking and real-world-asset protocols to users. Lido and MakerDAO are listed as yield sources, but the operating economics no longer justify keeping the network running.

Blast will first withdraw its assets from Lido, a process expected to take approximately one week. User withdrawals will be temporarily unavailable during this period. After the unwind, withdrawals will resume with a 24-hour delay and can be made directly with Blast's bridge contracts on Ethereum mainnet.