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Ethereum Layer-2 Network Blast Shuts Down
Confirmed
In Short: Ethereum Layer-2 network Blast is shutting down after operating costs exceeded revenue, with users asked to withdraw assets by October 26.
Blast, which launched in early access in November 2023 and raised $20 million from investors including Paradigm and Standard Crypto, saw its total value locked (TVL) fall to $32.3 million from a peak of $2.24 billion in June 2024, a drop of nearly 99%.
The network paid interest on deposits and promised a token reward, but it now costs more to run than it earns.
Pacman, the co-founder of the NFT marketplace Blur, expressed disappointment in the network's inability to sustain itself long-term.
"I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to make the chain sustainable over the long term, but I’m grateful to the users, developers, and teams who helped give Blast its moment, even if its run was shorter than we had hoped," Pacman said.
Users can withdraw assets through Blast’s normal interface until October 26, including balances held in its progressive web app.
After that date, users will have to interact directly with Blast’s bridge contracts on Ethereum mainnet to withdraw funds.
Blast will reduce withdrawal delay to 24 hours to facilitate the process.
The team will first withdraw its Lido staked assets, a process expected to take about a week, during which withdrawals will be temporarily unavailable.
Blast’s BLAST token has also seen significant declines, falling by almost 50% following the shutdown announcement.
South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb have designated BLAST a trading-caution asset due to sustainability concerns and the end of mainnet operations.
The network’s revenue from usage fell to about $1,793 in September 2026 from a peak of roughly $3.5 million in June 2024.
Blast’s shutdown comes amid increased competition among Ethereum layer-2 networks and the development of blockchain networks by major crypto platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood.
Background
Ethereum Layer-2 network Blast is shutting down after operating costs exceeded revenue, with users asked to withdraw assets by October 26.
Google is discontinuing its Gemini Gems feature, which allowed users to create custom AI assistants, in favor of a new 'skills' format.
What's confirmed
- Blast, a crypto network that held $2.24 billion in June 2024, is shutting down.
- We launched Blast with the goal of building a self-sustaining chain for users and developers.
- “I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to make the chain sustainable over the long term, but I’m grateful to the users, developers, and teams who helped give Blast its moment, even if its run was shorter than we had hoped,” Pacman said.
- Value locked on Blast has since fallen to $32.3 million from its 2024 peak, a drop of nearly 99%, DefiLlama data shows.
- Blast is a Layer 2 (L2), a cheaper side network that runs on top of Ethereum.
- It paid interest on deposits and promised a token reward.
- The team now says its priority is helping users move funds back to Ethereum safely before the interface deadline.
- Blast will shut down its Ethereum layer 2 network after operating costs exceeded the revenue generated by the chain.
- The team has asked users to move assets back to Ethereum mainnet before October 26.
- Blast states that it can no longer see a viable way to make the network economically viable.
- Users can withdraw assets through Blast’s normal interface until October 26, including balances held in its progressive web app.
- Withdrawals will still be available after that date, but users will have to use bridge contracts on Ethereum directly.
What's still developing
- Blast will shut down its Ethereum layer-2 network, the project announced on October 2, after concluding that the ongoing cost of maintaining the chain now exceeds the revenue it generates and that there is no credible path to economic sustainability.
- Blast said it made a difficult decision to wind down and apologized to the users and developers who built on the chain.
- Unlike a token-price setback or a governance dispute, the shutdown is framed as a straightforward financial decision: there is no longer a realistic route to running the network profitably.
- That is a reported estimate, not an official Ethereum statistic.
- According to Ethereum’s Danksharding plan, blob data is temporary and will be deleted from nodes after about 18 days.
- Blast also operated during a period when Ethereum had already reduced one of its key rollup costs.
- Blast announced the wind-down on X at 14:45 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) on October 2, 2026.
- BLAST traded at $0.0002242 at the time of writing, down 44.5% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.
- CoinMarketCap showed BLAST near $0.0002448, down 39.67% over 24 hours, in a separate reading on October 3.
- An L2 processes transactions away from the Ethereum mainnet, the base blockchain, and posts the resulting data back to it, which is meant to lower fees and speed up transactions.
- In an X post on Friday, Blast noted that the decision follows a widening gap between the network's operating costs and the revenue it generates.
- The collapse in activity has now prompted the team to begin an orderly wind-down rather than continue operating the network at a loss.