Layer-2 Blast Halts Block Production Immediately After Dencun Upgrade

Shortly after the Ethereum Dencun upgrade on the evening of March 13, Layer-2 Blast encountered issues with block production, resulting in transaction disruptions.

The Blast account on X reported that the Layer-2 mainnet stopped producing blocks on the evening of March 13. The preliminary explanation for this issue is related to complications arising from the Dencun upgrade on the Ethereum mainnet.

"The Blast Mainnet has stopped producing blocks due to issues related to Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade. Core engineering contributors are working on a fix. We’ll share an update and post-mortem once the fix is live (eta 30-60 min)." - Blast on X

The Blast team is currently investigating the technical issue and estimates that it will take 30-60 minutes to resolve, along with providing a detailed post-mortem of the error.

Blast is a Layer-2 solution designed to optimize costs for liquid staking. In November 2023, Blast faced several controversies regarding its product operation and reward model. Despite these challenges, the mainnet launch has maintained strong community support, with locked assets on the platform fluctuating around $1 billion.

Last week, Blast also saw a minor change with an interest rate increase for USDB (a bond stablecoin developed by Blast) from 5% to 15%. This adjustment followed MakerDAO’s proposal to raise the DSR deposit rate to 15% on March 11.

YIELD ANNOUNCEMENT
"Blast USDB yield has increased following MakerDAO's recent yield update. USDB holders now earn 15% yield + Blast Points. This yield is automatic, holders don't need to do anything to receive it." - Blast on X

The Layer-2 model with Canonical Bridge mechanisms is well-known within the DeFi community. However, Blast has recently faced criticism and concerns about risks, particularly due to its Canonical Bridge contract reusing funds and investing them in third-party protocols.

"My first take on @Blast_L2 and the risk of your deposits there. The idea to invest your funds put in a bridge is not new, but Blast takes it to the new level (in terms of TVL, at least)." - bartek.eth on X

Thus, the synchronization issue with Layer-1 following the Dencun upgrade raises significant questions and presents a new challenge for the future development of this Layer-2 solution.

Update:

The Blast account on X announced that the issue has been resolved. The project will soon share a detailed analysis of the incident.

"Update: the issue has been resolved. A full analysis on the issue will be shared shortly." - Blast on X