By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 26th, 2024
With its aggressive marketing, Blast promised high-yield growth to users alongside rewards based on how many invites users bring into the network.
Blast (BLAST) ecosystem will finally go live on the Mainnet on February 29, ending the long wait for thrilled users and supporters. The ecosystem recently hit a key milestone as the Total Locked Value (TVL) hit $2 billion.
IT’S TIME TO BLAST OFF
Mainnet. February 29.
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是时候发射了！
主网。2月29日。
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BLAST 여정의 시작.
메인넷. 2월 29일. pic.twitter.com/9jaBnFF6gw— Blast (@Blast_L2) February 26, 2024
Blast is an Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution. It was created by the team behind Blur. Paradigm and Standard Crypto back it. The protocol is a relatively new project first announced in November 2023. Its differentiator from others in the space is the promise of more native yield to users holding ETH and stablecoins on the L2 platform.
Blast Hits, Misses, and Post-Mainnet Launch Plans
Blast allowed an early access phase in November before embarking on a testnet. With its aggressive marketing, Blast promised high-yield growth to users. Additionally, users are eligible for rewards based on how many invites they bring into the network.
The messaging was an instant hit, as it drove Blast’s TVL to cross the $1 billion mark on December 26, a remarkable fete as users locked their assets for promised rewards. The TVL crossed $2 billion on February 26, dominated by staked ETH (sETH), approximately 91% ($1.957B) at the time of writing.
However, Blast’s messaging and rewards points system faced criticism in November. The novel and opaque nature of how the points translate to upcoming BLAST token rewards led to friction with one of its backers, Paradigm. Dan Robinson, head of research at Paradigm, distanced himself from the project’s messaging but maintained that Blast had a lot of exciting components.
There are a lot of components of Blast that I’m excited about and would be interested in engaging with people on. That said, we at Paradigm think the announcement this week crossed lines in both messaging and execution. For example, we don’t agree with the decision to launch the…
— Dan Robinson (@danrobinson) November 26, 2023
In response, Blast’s co-founder, Tieshun Roquerre, who goes by the pseudonym “Pacman” on X, stated that Paradigm’s work on Blast was purely technical design of the L2. As such, the go-to-market (GTM) strategy and messaging was an internal affair and Blast’s sole responsibility.
3/ Finally, I've seen a lot of FUD about Blast's invite rewards. While I'd like to take credit, Blast's invite system is not a new mechanism. Invite systems have been around for a long time.
I don't like marketing mechanics just for the sake of "growth". Given that, you may…
— Pacman | Blur + Blast (@PacmanBlur) November 24, 2023
He rubbished other market watchers who compared Blast’s strategy to Ponzi schemes, highlighting that the high yields would come from Lido and MakerDao.
Unfortunately, Blast detractors had the last laugh. The ecosystem witnessed its first rug pull over the weekend. One of the GambleFi projects, RiskOnBlast, set to launch on the ecosystem, scammed retailers for 420 ETH, worth $1.37M based on current prices.
The Mainnet launch will allow developers, including those from the recently concluded Big Bang Competition, to deploy their projects. The dApp projects set to launch on the Mainnet span different categories, from GambleFi to decentralized exchanges.
Interestingly, the Mainnet launch will coincide with developer airdrops extending to May. According to Blast’s blog, most allocated airdrops for other Big Bang participants will happen in May.
