Blast, the Ethereum layer-2 network that once locked more than $2.3 billion in its bridge, is shutting down after concluding that running the chain costs more than it earns and has no credible path to economic sustainability.

The team announced the decision Friday on X. "As a result, we've made the difficult decision to wind Blast down," the Blast team wrote, adding that it sees no viable way to make the network sustainable at current operating costs.

What is the withdrawal deadline?

Users have until Oct. 26 to move their assets back to Ethereum's mainnet through Blast's regular interface, including balances held in the network's progressive web app. After that date, funds remain accessible only by interacting directly with Blast's bridge contracts on Ethereum. Blast said it will publish instructions before the deadline.

The wind-down carries operational friction for users. Withdrawals will pause for roughly one week while the team pulls the network's assets out of Lido, the liquid staking protocol. Once withdrawals resume, Blast will cut its standard withdrawal delay to 24 hours.

How did Blast reach this point?

Tieshun Roquerre's NFT marketplace Blur team launched Blast in November 2023, pitching automatic yield on ETH and stablecoin balances alongside expectations of a token airdrop. Paradigm co-led the $20 million seed round, though the venture firm publicly criticized the launch's messaging at the time — an unusual public split between a startup and its lead investor.

Deposits came fast. Users committed more than $1.1 billion before the network even went live, and total value locked in the bridge surpassed $2.3 billion by the February 2024 mainnet launch.

The trajectory reversed quickly. Blast briefly stopped producing blocks after Ethereum's Dencun upgrade in March 2024. Its June 2024 airdrop allocated $354 million worth of BLAST tokens to users but left many participants disappointed. By that point, total value locked had already declined about 30% from the $2.3 billion peak.

Which other layer-2s are closing?

Blast is the third notable Ethereum layer-2 to wind down this year, a sign that the economics of running smaller rollups have deteriorated as competition for sequencer revenue and liquidity intensified.

• Zero Network — wallet maker Zerion said in May it would shut down its gasless Ethereum layer-2 after about 18 months, giving users until July 31 to bridge out.
• Silicon Network — the Ethereum layer-2 associated with South Korean exchange Korbit stopped accepting deposits Sept. 2. Users have until Dec. 31 to withdraw, with roughly $9.75 million still on the chain, according to L2Beat data.

The contraction extends beyond infrastructure. Hong Kong-founded exchange CoinEx said last month it will close on Dec. 22, joining BitMEX and Bitmart in a wave of exchange shutdowns this year.

For Blast users, the immediate operational priority is clear: complete mainnet withdrawals before the Oct. 26 interface cutoff, or be prepared to interact directly with bridge contracts thereafter.