Blast Layer-2 Network Shuts Down Amid Unsustainable Costs

Ethereum layer-2 network Blast is shutting down due to operating costs exceeding revenue.

The team behind Blast said it sees no 'credible path' to making the network economically sustainable and asked users to withdraw their assets to Ethereum mainnet.

Blast launched in November 2023 with native yield on Ether (ETH) and stablecoins, attracting more than $2 billion in deposits before its mainnet launched in February 2024. However, its DeFi total value locked has declined steadily since peaking at roughly $2.2 billion in June 2024, falling by more than 98% since then.

The network will reduce its withdrawal delay to 24 hours, though withdrawals will be temporarily unavailable while Blast unwinds its Lido assets, a process expected to take about a week.