Summary
TLDR: Blast, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling network, launched its mainnet, unlocking billions of dollars’ worth of crypto funds. Users had staked over $2.3 billion into the bridge from Ethereum mainnet to Blast. The price of Ethereum has been rising, increasing the value of staked funds. Blast offers native yield, with ETH and stablecoin balances automatically yielding. Some users are withdrawing funds, while others are staying for rewards and airdrops. Blast will give users “airdrop points” in May for a future token launch. Launch has faced criticism for locking up funds and marketing tactics.
Key Points
1. Blast, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling network, launched its mainnet, unlocking billions of dollars’ worth of crypto funds that users had locked up for staking and airdrop rewards.
2. More than $2.3 billion had been staked into the bridge from the Ethereum mainnet to Blast before the scaling network went online, with the total rapidly climbing due to the launch of new projects and the increasing price of Ethereum.
3. Blast users will receive “airdrop points” in May for a future token launch, positioning Blast as a competitor to other Ethereum scalers like Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and Polygon, with a similar successful incentives model as founder Tieshun “Pacman” Roquerre’s NFT marketplace Blur.