Blast Layer-2 Network Shuts Down Amid Unsustainable Operating Economics
A $20 million Ethereum layer-2 network called Blast will shut down on October 26 due to unsustainable operating economics. The project announced on October 2 that it cannot justify maintaining the chain, which was launched nearly three years ago with backing from Paradigm and Standard Crypto. Blast's yield model allowed users to benefit from returns earned by protocols such as Lido and MakerDAO.
The network will enter an asset withdrawal process, temporarily interrupting user withdrawals. Users are advised to move their assets to Ethereum mainnet before October 26 to withdraw through the normal interface. After the deadline, users will need to interact directly with Blast's bridge contracts on Ethereum mainnet.
Blast will unwind its Lido assets before reopening withdrawals with a new 24-hour delay. The project has promised to publish detailed instructions for this route before the deadline.