Blast Schedules Mainnet Launch As TVL Pushed Above $2B

Blast, the controversial Ethereum Layer 2 from the developers behind the leading NFT marketplace, Blur, has scheduled its mainnet launch for Feb. 29.

The date was announced via  tweet on Feb. 26, close to four months after Blast first began accepting deposits from users. Blast offers native yields on ETH and stablecoin deposits via Lido’s liquid staking token, stETH, and MakerDAO. Depositors also earn Blast points, which are expected to qualify holders for a future  airdrop.

The announcement came the day after Blast’s total value locked (TVL) broke above  $2B amid sustained Ether  price gains. At launch, Blast is poised to rank as the third-largest Layer 2, sitting behind OP Mainnet with $7.6B and above Manta Pacific with $1.9B, according to L2beat. Blast  tweeted that it has received deposits from 157,638 wallets.

Blast controversy

Blast has consistently attracted criticism from the web3 community since bursting onto the scene in November.

The project initially copped flak for using airdrop incentives to lure deposits to a one-way  deposit contract offering no security guarantees beyond a three-of-five multisig wallet controlled by pseudonymous developers before publishing code or deploying its network. Critics also decried the project’s use of referral codes, a common feature among multi-level-marketing schemes.

Despite the concerns, Blast attracted more than $500M worth of deposits in less than one week. With the majority of deposits comprising ETH, the project contributed to a short-term uptick in stETH’s already  alarming dominance over the supply of staked Ether.

Blast finally released the code for its network in late January. The documentation ignited renewed criticism after sleuths accused the project of  forking Optimism’s code with minimal changes, altering the code’s license without authorization, and without giving credit to its original author.

Risk accused of first Blast ecosystem rug pull

On Feb. 25, Risk, a Blast-based gambling protocol, appeared to rug-pull its investors in the first exit scam within the Blast ecosystem.

The project, which was overseen by anonymous developers, raised 420 ETH ($1.36M) from more than 750 community members in a pre-sale seed round before shutting down its website and  social media accounts.  Data from Arkham Intelligence indicates that RiskOnBlast’s wallets have been emptied. SomaXBT, a fraud-focused on-chain analyst,  flagged transactions showing RoskOnBlast’s assets moving through centralized exchanges and coin mixing protocol.

Blast  promoted RiskOnBlast in a Feb. 13 tweet, describing the project’s potential as “undeniable” amid their participation in its BIg Bang ecosystem competition. Blast has not issued a statement acknowledging the project since the alleged exit scam.