Blast Nears $2 Billion TVL Before February Mainnet Launch

Ethereum layer 2 scaling solution Blast has seen its total value locked (TVL) approach $2 billion in the run up to its mainnet launch scheduled for February 2024, demonstrating strong support and anticipation for the upcoming protocol. As of late November 2022, Blast’s TVL stood at $1.841 billion according to Defi Llama metrics, having surpassed $1 billion in under two months since announcing their testnet phase.

Rapid Growth And Founding Team

Blast attracted over $1 billion in just 35 days, showing explosive growth uncommon for emerging layer 2 protocols (tweet). This success can be attributed in part to the founding team’s experience developing BLUR (formerly a top NFT marketplace) led by Tieshun Roquerre, known as Pacman (tweet). Other team members hail from prestigious backgrounds such as FAANG, Yale, MIT and have raised $20 million from Paradigm and Standard Crypto to develop Blast.

Native Yields And Rewards

Blast offers an Ethereum L2 providing compounding yields, currently 4% APY for ETH and 5% for stablecoins such as USDC, DAI bridged over as USDB – an auto-rebasing stablecoin. USDB yield comes from integration with MakerDAO’s on-chain T-Bill protocols (protocol docs). Over 3,000 teams are now building on Blast, with a goal to develop their own thriving multi-chain ecosystem for DeFi, DEXes, NFTs, meme coins and beyond.

Anticipated Airdrop And Developer Incentives

The Blast airdrop is highly anticipated, with some speculating rewards could total $1.5 billion if Blast reaches a $15 billion valuation (airdrop details). To incentivize builders, Blast returns 100% of gas fees to developers (developer page). Their “Big Bang” competition awarded additional prizes to over 300 winners for building quality long-term applications on testnet (competition page).

Mainnet Launch Anticipation

With nearly 150,000 users depositing close to $2 billion ahead of mainnet launch in February 2024, Blast has seen tremendous success in its testnet phase (user metrics). Points and rewards are set to distribute in May 2024. The strong community support, experienced founding team, and innovative model leave Blast well positioned to deliver on its promise of an expansive multi-chain ecosystem when mainnet launches early next year.

Participants interested in Blast are encouraged to conduct thorough research and only allocate funds they can afford to lose, as with any early-stage project, due to inherent risks. The upcoming mainnet launch will prove pivotal for Blast in realizing its long-term vision to scale Ethereum and decentralize web3 through an inclusive platform open to all.

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