Blast, one of the Ethereum Layer-2 networks, will be shut down. But there’s one thing that makes this case interesting: there are still around US$51 million in user funds stored on this network.
If you’re not familiar yet, Blast is an Ethereum Layer-2 network. In simple terms, this network is created so that transactions can be carried out at a lower cost than doing so directly using Ethereum.
Blast had once grown very large. In June 2024, the value of assets on its network had reached about US$2.24 billion.
But now the situation has changed drastically. The value locked in Blast is down to around US$32.3 million—nearly 99% lower than its peak. Even in the past 24 hours, the chain’s revenue has only been about US$110.
The Blast team says the cost of running the network is now greater than its revenue, and they don’t see realistic enough solutions to make it sustainable in the near term.
Blast founder Tieshun Roquerre, better known as Pacman, said he was disappointed because the project couldn’t last long-term.
And after this closure news came out, the $BLAST token also fell by about 19%. But what’s most interesting isn’t about the token.
So what about the users’ money that’s still inside Blast?
According to L2BEAT, there are still around US$51 million in assets bridged from Ethereum and stored in the Blast contract.
Of that amount, about US$46.6 million is ETH that’s been staked via Lido. Because those funds are still in Lido, the initial withdrawal process takes about a week to release them.
Users can still use the Blast application as normal until October 26. After that, the process will be carried out directly through the Blast contract on Ethereum. And this is where the question of control comes in.
L2BEAT notes that the Blast contract is controlled by five key holders, with a 3-of-5 mechanism that can make certain changes to the contract or halt withdrawals.
Meanwhile, the Blast fraud-proof system—supposed to allow mistakes in record-keeping to be challenged—has been said to have never fully worked.
L2BEAT highlights this as a design risk. They aren’t accusing anyone of misusing funds.
So, the Blast case isn’t just a story about a failed crypto project that couldn’t sustain its business.
This is also a reminder that when we put funds into a crypto network, we need to know one important thing:
Who actually has control over our money when something doesn’t go according to plan?