This week, we finally listed the $BLAST token on the BTSE platform. In commemoration of this occasion, we’ve written a brief overview of Blast’s achievements as a Layer 2 and the role that its token plays in its ecosystem as a whole.

Introduction

Ethereum network congestion has resulted in high gas fees, and scalability remains a challenge for projects building on it. Even with its recent upgrade to proof of stake, there is still a lot of work to be done.

While many Layer 2s promise a solution, Blast has stood out as the only EVM-compatible optimistic rollup Layer 2 that offers native yield for both Ethereum and stablecoins. 

This is achieved through ETH staking and real-world asset (RWA) protocols. Blast not only enhances performance but also introduces innovative yield-generating mechanisms that differentiate it from other Layer 2s.

Blast’s Achievements Year to Date

The Mainnet for Blast was launched on February 29, 2024; after just two weeks, they generated an astonishing $2 billion in deposits, benefiting from founder Tieshun Roquerre’s credibility and track record building NFT marketplace Blur. 

In January 2024 alone, Blur witnessed $673.48 million in trading volumes for Ethereum NFTs, and as of the time of writing, over 50% of the marketplace volume for them. 

Upon Blast’s launch, much of Blur’s community users easily transitioned to Blast and became its early adopters.

In terms of growth and TVL, Blast has been in its own league, with a whopping $1.38 billion TVL as of the time of writing. A major factor to this is the fact that assets can earn yield natively. Extremely attractive incentives for new users have fueled its growth too. 

On the project side, a unique gas-sharing revenue model has also attracted many developers, as seen in the highlights below.

Earlier this May, they achieved the sixth highest global TVL, which is impressive for such a new EVM chain. Late June saw the Blast team airdrop 17% of its supply of BLAST tokens to early users. 

How Blast Works

Blast employs Auto Rebasing to adjust its supply in response to price fluctuations, maintaining stable value in users’ wallets while managing circulation. 

And by enabling staking of both ETH and USDB, Blast’s native stablecoin, Blast allows users to benefit from price stability and yield generation. 

When users bridge stablecoins to Blast, they receive USDB from the T-Bill protocol on MakerDAO, enabling them to accumulate yield through stablecoin profits. Users can bridge back to the Ethereum chain and redeem USDB for DAI, facilitating seamless transitions while maximizing yield opportunities.

USDB earns profits at a 5% APR, and users can redeem it for USDC when bridging back.  For those seeking returns through staking, Blast provides an extremely attractive DeFi opportunity. 

Additionally, you can also use ETH and USDB to stake and/or trade on any of the 100+ dApps built on Blast, generating Blast points and gold that can be exchanged for BLAST tokens. 

By doing so, you’ll benefit from the following:

• Upside in Ethereum’s price
• Yield from ETH (3% APY) and USDB (5.5%)
• Blast points and gold, can be converted for Blast tokens

So effectively, not only will you benefit from holding Ethereum, but you’ll also receive even more upside through the interest yields and points/gold. 

Blast Tokenomics

$BLAST is a multi-functional token within the Blast Ecosystem. Its use cases range from governance to helping holders vote on decisions and staking for rewards. Transactions will also utilize Blast tokens for fees, which are distributed back into the ecosystem. 

• Community – 50,000,000,000 (50%)

• • • 50% of the total BLAST supply is reserved for the community and will be distributed through incentive campaigns.

• ​Core Contributors – 25,480,226,842 (25.5%)

• • • All tokens distributed to core contributors are subject to a 4 year lockup period.

• ​Investors – 16,519,773,158 (16.5%)

• • • All tokens distributed to investors are subject to a 4 year lockup period, with 25% of the investor tokens unlocked 1 year after the date of the TGE.

• Blast Foundation – 8,000,000,000 (8%)

• • The Foundation allocation will be held in reserve to be used towards critical infrastructure and further growing the Blast ecosystem, unlocked linearly over a 4 year period from the date of the TGE.

Projects on Blast to Keep an Eye On

Thruster Finance

• Website: Thruster Finance 
• TVL: $143,744,733
• What is it: Thruster is a DeFi platform built on Blast. Users can be a liquidity provider, or do swaps; users can generate Thruster Credits, which can be used to unlock various rewards.  

Wasabi Protocol

• Website: Wasabi Protocol
• TVL: $139,806,122 
• What is it?  A “CultureFi” decentralized platform that provides users with the ability to do swaps, leverage trading, and stake on-chain, long-tail assets from memecoins to fractionalized NFTs.

Juice Finance

• Website: Juice Finance 
• TVL: $111,306,165 
• What is it? Juice Finance helps maximize yields on Blast. To do so, your Blast ETH becomes collateral for up to 300% USDB and ETH leverage; lend, borrow, and accumulate yield, all in one place. 

What’s to Come for the Blast Ecosystem

Blast is positioning itself as a game-changing full-stack solution in the Ethereum ecosystem.  

In July, they announced an update that cut withdrawal times from two weeks down to seven days. 

In their “Vision” blog post from June 2024, Blast explains: “Without giving away too much, in Phase 2 the Blast Foundation will work with the community to create a desktop and mobile wallet, specifically for cryptonatives. There is a clear opportunity to build an experience significantly better than Metamask, and we will leverage incentives to accelerate adoption, but that’s just the beginning.” 

The end goal is to have less fragmentation, which is one of the key issues for building in Web 3. Furthermore, the all-in-one approach also aims to provide greater levels of cohesion, multi-service support, all in one for its users. Although a very ambitious goal, they believe this will transform how users interact with decentralized finance on Ethereum.

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