The Ethereum-based L2 network Blast is set to cease operations, as the team has acknowledged that the costs associated with maintaining the blockchain outweigh its revenue, and there is no realistic path to achieving profitability.
"Blast will be shutting down.
— Blast (@blast) October 2, 2026
We launched Blast with the goal of building a self-sustaining chain for users and developers. Unfortunately, the economics of operating the chain no longer make sense: the ongoing costs of maintaining Blast exceed the revenue generated by the L2, and…"
Users have been advised to withdraw their assets to the Ethereum mainnet by October 26.
Network Economics Proved Unsustainable
The Blast team announced the project's shutdown just over two years after its launch. According to the developers, maintaining the infrastructure is more expensive than the revenue generated by the network, and they do not see a viable route to financial sustainability.
"We launched Blast with the aim of creating a self-sustaining network for users and developers. Unfortunately, the economy of its operations no longer makes sense," the team stated.
One contributing factor to this decision was a significant drop in activity following an initial surge. Data from DefiLlama indicates that in June 2024, Blast had over $2.2 billion in total value locked (TVL), but by early October 2026, this figure plummeted to approximately $32 million — a decline of more than 98%.
Simultaneously, the revenue generated from network usage also saw a sharp decrease. While Blast earned around $3.5 million in June 2024, its revenue for the last month was only $6,532. This dramatic drop in income made it economically unfeasible to maintain the infrastructure.
Source: DefiLlama.How Users Can Withdraw Assets
The team has urged users to transfer their funds from Blast to the main Ethereum network, including balances stored in the Blast PWA application.
The withdrawal process will occur in several stages:
- For about a week, the team will be withdrawing Blast assets from Lido. During this period, withdrawals will be temporarily halted, despite the standard delay being reduced.
- Once this procedure is complete, withdrawals will resume with a 24-hour delay instead of the previous timeframe.
- Users will be able to withdraw their assets through the standard Blast interface until October 26.
- After this date, funds will still be available for withdrawal, but users will need to interact directly with the Blast bridge smart contracts on the Ethereum mainnet. The team has promised to provide instructions in advance.
From Billion-Dollar TVL to Shutdown
Blast was launched in November 2023 by the creator of the NFT marketplace Blur, known by the pseudonym Pacman. Unlike many other Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, Blast initially attracted users with promises of native yield on ETH and stablecoins.
In its early months, the project rapidly gained traction. Even before the mainnet launch, users had deposited over $1.1 billion, partly in anticipation of a future token airdrop. By June 2024, the TVL peaked at over $2.2 billion, but after the distribution of BLAST tokens, the figure began to decline. By August 2025, it had dropped to $67 million — a 97% decrease from its peak.
This decline also impacted BLAST token prices. In January 2024, the token reached an all-time high of $0.029, but by August, it had fallen below $0.01. By early April 2025, the token price had plummeted to around $0.003 and continued to decrease.
Source: CoinGecko.Following the announcement of the network’s closure, the token's value dropped 41% in a single day, reaching $0.00024. The market capitalization of BLAST now stands at $16.9 million, compared to approximately $468.2 million at its peak.
It is worth noting that in early September, three other crypto projects — Harmony, Router Protocol, and Orionx — also announced their shutdowns. At the end of the month, Balancer users voted to cease operations of the decentralized automated market maker protocol.
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