The Ethereum layer-2 network Blast is shutting down operations due to the inability to maintain economic sustainability. The team stated that operating costs have consistently exceeded the revenue generated by the chain, leaving no viable path forward for the project.
Users are advised to withdraw their assets to the Ethereum mainnet. To facilitate this, the network has reduced its withdrawal delay to 24 hours. However, withdrawals are currently paused while the team unwinds its Lido assets, a process expected to take approximately one week.
The official deadline for using the Blast interface for withdrawals is October 26. After this date, users will need to interact directly with the Blast bridge contracts on Ethereum to access their funds. The team plans to release specific instructions for this process.
Blast was launched in November 2023 by Tieshun Pacman Roquerre, the founder of the NFT marketplace Blur. The network initially attracted over $2 billion in deposits before its mainnet launch in February 2024, supported by native yield features and a points program.
The network experienced a significant decline in activity following a peak in June 2024. According to data from DefiLlama, the total value locked in Blast has dropped by more than 98 percent since that time. The associated NFT marketplace Blur also saw its TVL fall from over $200 million to roughly $27 million.
