Blast: The Pioneer of Yield Narrative

Blast conducted a token airdrop to the community on the evening of June 26, marking the conclusion of this highly anticipated airdrop event. From the perspective of investment institutions, community enthusiasm, and locked-up amounts, Blast is undoubtedly a top project this year that can stand shoulder to shoulder with ZKsync. As Layer 2 enters a new stage, the future development of Blast and its impact on the Layer 2 ecosystem is worth paying attention to.

1. Project Background

Environment-driven Innovation

For a long time, in the traditional Layer 2 ecosystem, users earn ecosystem tokens as returns through staking, while project parties use the staked funds to complete transaction verification and other activities. Since Layer 2 is built on Layer 1, the staked funds face dual system risks, so Layer 2 projects typically need to provide higher staking rates. Against this backdrop, Blast has emerged, aiming to further enhance the capital efficiency of Layer 2.

Basic Information

Blast is an Ethereum Layer 2 network based on Optimistic Rollups technology, launched by PacMan, the founder of Blur. Unlike other Layer 2 solutions that focus on scaling and reducing fees, Blast aims to improve the shortcomings of Layer 1 while providing higher economic benefits. It is the first Layer 2 to offer fixed income for ETH and stablecoin staking, and it is expected to guide the construction of Layer 2 from technical attributes back to the financial attributes of Web3.

Development History

• November 2023: Project launch, secured $20 million in seed funding.
• November 2023: Announce a unique yield model that offers 4% ETH yield and 5% stablecoin yield.
• February 2024: Mainnet Launch
• May 2024: Airdrop plan postponed to June 26, increasing the airdrop allocation.
• June 26, 2024: Airdrop officially distributed

market growth

The Blast chain is in high demand in the market, with a locked amount of 1.6 billion dollars as of the time of writing. It ranks 6th in TVL and 11th in the number of protocols, with locked assets accounting for 1.71% of all on-chain locked assets.

2. Token Economics

token function

The $Blast token has basic functions such as ecological governance, airdrop incentives, and staking rewards. It is worth noting that the Blast ecosystem has a relatively more complete governance structure.

Token Distribution

The total supply of Blast tokens is 10 billion.

• Community: 50%, linear unlock over 3 years
• Core contributors: 25.5%, 25% will be unlocked after one year, 75% will be unlocked linearly over the next 3 years.
• Investors: 16.5%, 25% unlocked after one year, 75% unlocked linearly over the next three years.
• Blast Foundation: 8%, linear unlocking over 4 years

First Phase Airdrop

• Blast Points holders share 7% of the total supply.
• Blast Goal holders share 7% of the total supply.
• The Blur Foundation receives 3% of the total supply for distribution to the Blur community.

Airdrops for wallets in the top 0.1% will be released linearly over 6 months, alleviating selling pressure during token release. The number of Blast Goals is relatively small, and the returns for its holders are much higher than those of Blast Points.

3. Narrative Characteristics

Perfect compatibility with EVM

Blast has high compatibility with EVM, reducing migration costs and accelerating ecosystem development. Its innovation lies in the optional approach, allowing contracts to independently decide whether to participate in the Auto-Rebasing feature.

A plan for multiple benefits from one fish.

Blast achieves native yield for ETH and stablecoins through Auto-Rebasing. This solution automatically stakes the tokens locked in the contract on DeFi platforms like Lido and MakerDAO, continuously converting them into native token yields, allowing for compound interest while avoiding high gas fees. In the future, Blast is expected to independently achieve this functionality without relying on these platforms.

4. Ecological Construction

The Blast ecosystem encompasses multiple tracks such as SocialFi, GameFi, DeFi, and NFT, forming a diversified ecosystem.

DEX leader Thruster

Thruster is a yield-focused DEX, with a TVL of $438 million. It inherits the AMM model of conventional DeFi, providing both simple and complex UI modes, and leverages the automated staking rewards of the Blast chain to enhance liquidity and trading efficiency. Its features include a weekly no-loss lottery Thruster Treasure pool reward.

Leveraged Lending Leader Juice Finance

Juice Finance is the largest leveraged lending platform on the Blast chain, with a TVL of $394 million. It offers lending and yield farming features and integrates Blast's native rebasing token and gas refund mechanism. Its characteristics include permissionless lending and cross-margin functionality.

Capital effect enhances platform Zest

Zest utilizes the native ETH yield of the Blast chain to enhance capital efficiency. Users can stake ETH to earn zUSD and Leveraged ETH, achieving risk-free leveraged returns. This solution offers a choice with higher yields and lower risks.

SocialFi leader Fantasy

Fantasy is a social financial trading card game that combines elements of SocialFi and GameFi. Users can earn profits by purchasing cards of celebrities and participate in weekly ranking competitions. As of now, the total trading volume of NFTs on the Fantasy platform has reached $93.11 million, with over 36,700 participants.

5. Future Development and Risks

development trend

• Blast is expected to become a landmark project, pioneering new ideas for Layer 2 economic benefits.
• Its high yield characteristics may continue to attract funds from other chains.
• Blast Chain provides a good development environment for DeFi projects.

potential risks

• The Auto-Rebasing feature has increased the systemic risk of funds across the entire chain.
• Automatic staking of funds may lead to disputes over users' rights to manage their funds.
• High returns come with increased overall risk.

Overall, Blast provides a good opportunity for small investors, but its innovative model also brings new challenges and risks. As more Layer 2 projects may adopt similar strategies, Blast's development will continue to attract industry attention.