Blast L2 Network Shuts Down Amid Unsustainable Economics

Ethereum Layer-2 network Blast is shutting down due to unsustainable economics. The network's operating costs exceed the revenue it generates, with chain revenues dropping to $110 in the past 24 hours. This is a significant decline from the chain's peak, where it held more than $2.26 billion in total value locked (TVL) in June 2024.

The team behind Blast notes that the decision to shut down was made after a widening gap between operating costs and revenue. They launched the network in November 2023 with a $20 million funding round led by Paradigm and Standard Crypto. The network's native-yield model, which generated yield through underlying protocols, was not enough to sustain the chain.

Users are given a withdrawal deadline of October 26, after which they will need to interact directly with the bridge contracts on Ethereum. The team apologizes to users and developers who built on the network, stating that their priority is to make the shutdown as smooth and safe as possible.