91 Million USD Bridged to Layer-2 Blast Within One Day of Launch
Despite the assets being locked until the mainnet launch next year, the new layer-2 solution Blast is already seeing significant inflows.
Image: 91 Million USD Bridged to Layer-2 Blast Within One Day of Launch.
Image Source: Website Blast
Within hours of its launch and the announcement of its capital raise, more than 90 million USD in Ethereum (ETH) and stablecoins have been bridged to Blast.
23,368 users have joined the Blast Community in the past 24 hours.
— Blast (@blast) November 22, 2023
Thanks to them, Blast has reached $81 Million in TVL in one day!
We're excited to share more with community members soon — there's much more to come! pic.twitter.com/fQVAQW8v06
Out of this, over 76 million USD in Ethereum has been staked on Lido, yielding an annual interest rate of 4%; 14 million USD is held on Maker DAO; and the remaining approximately 281,000 USD is held in wallets in the form of ETH and DAI stablecoins.
Image: Breakdown of Assets on Blast.
Image Source: Coin68
As reported by Coin68, Blast is a layer-2 solution built on Optimistic Rollups technology, similar to Arbitrum and Optimism. The inflow of funds into this new platform indicates the market's demand for layer-2 protocols that operate on layer-1 platforms like Ethereum, addressing issues such as throughput, speed, transaction costs, and scalability.
Staking Model and Market Impact
Blast is noted for its yield-generating staking model on the Ethereum network. While Ethereum offers a basic interest rate of 3-4% for staking ETH, Blast positions itself as the first layer-2 solution to incentivize holding ETH rather than keeping it on layer-1.
Once you have access, you can bridge to earn yield (4% for ETH + 5% for stablecoins) and Blast Points ahead of the Mainnet launch in February (2024).
— Blast (@blast) November 20, 2023
Early access members get more points based on how much they bridge and who they invite.
Users with assets on Blast will see their holdings grow over time. ETH bridged to Blast will be staked via Lido, and the rewards will be redistributed to users through a proprietary stablecoin called USDB.
The project states:
"We have redesigned layer-2 from the ground up so that if you have 1 ETH in your wallet on Blast, it will automatically grow to 1.04 - 1.08 - 1.12 ETH over time."
However, users must wait until Blast's mainnet launch in February 2024 to withdraw their assets.
Additionally, users can earn BLAST points based on the amount of ETH bridged from Ethereum to Blast and the number of people they invite to try the layer-2 solution. These points will count towards future airdrops, with token exchange expected around May 2024.
Investment and Future Plans
Blast has raised over 20 million USD from prominent investors such as Paradigm, Standard Crypto, and eGirl Capital, along with notable figures in the crypto space. The team behind Blast includes Pacman, the founder of the NFT marketplace Blur.
Pacman stated that Blast is an extension of the Blur ecosystem, providing a way for NFT users to earn returns on idle assets. The price of BLUR has increased by 12% in the past 24 hours following the introduction of Blast.
Image: BLUR Price Change in the Past 24 Hours, Screenshot from CoinMarketCap at 10:30 AM on 22/11/2023.
Image Source: CoinMarketCap
