Blast L2 ends and sets withdrawal deadline for October 26

Blast, the yielding Ethereum L2 that made billions before it even launched, is Stop because the chain now costs more to operate than it brings in. Users have until October 26 to transfer funds to the Ethereum mainnet through Blast’s usual interface.

• The timeline: Withdrawals are suspended for approximately a week while Blast unwinds its positions on Lido. After that, they reopen with the usual wait reduced to 24 hours. This includes balances held in the Blast web app.

• After the deadline: Funds left behind are not lost, but withdrawing them later means interacting directly with Blast’s bridging contracts on Ethereum. It’s not suitable for beginners, so don’t delay if you need to take the plunge.

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• The fall: Founded by Blur creator Pacman, Blast attracted over $2 billion in deposits ahead of its February 2024 mainnet by offering native yield on ETH and stablecoins. Today, it holds around $32 million in DeFi TVL, and $BLAST is trading around 98% below its June 2024 high, according to DefiLlama.

• Zoom out: Blast was the poster child for the points and airdrops era of L2. It showed that incentives can attract capital quickly, but they cannot maintain it. This probably won’t be the last little rollup to run the numbers and fold.