Ethereum Layer 2 network Blast is being shut down because its operating costs have exceeded the revenue generated on the chain.

Blast stated in a post on X on Friday that there is no longer a 'credible path' to achieve economic sustainability for the network, and urged users to move their assets back to the Ethereum mainnet.

The team stated, "Our goal in launching Blast was to create a self-sustaining blockchain for users and developers. Unfortunately, the economic viability of operating this chain is no longer viable."

Users can extract their assets through the interface of Blast before October 26th. After that date, the assets will still be accessible, but users will need to interact directly with the Blast and bridge contracts on Ethereum when extracting them.

Blast indicates that the operation instructions for direct extraction via bridge contracts will be published by the deadline of October 26th, and users are urged to transfer their assets back to the Ethereum mainnet before that time.

Blast stems from the NFT craze of Blur.

Blast was founded by Tieshun, Pacman, and Roquerre. He is also the founder of the NFT market. Blur went live in October 2022 and quickly challenged the then-leading NFT market by offering token incentives to professional traders. By the end of 2022, Blur had surpassed NFT in trading volume and continued to widen its lead in early 2023, partly due to token airdrops and trader rewards.

Roquerre launched Blast in November 2023, offering native yields on Ether ( ETH ) and stablecoins, along with a points program linked to the anticipated token airdrop. This strategy helped Blast attract over $2 billion in deposits before its mainnet went live in February 2024.

According to DeFiLlama data, the total locked-up value of DeFi of Blast has fallen by more than 98% since its peak in June 2024.

However, against the backdrop of a broader NFT market downturn, the growth of Blast is difficult to sustain. DeFiLlama data shows that its DeFi total locked-up value has been continuously declining since its peak of approximately $2.2 billion in June 2024, and has now fallen by more than 98% from that peak.

Blur has also experienced a similar decline. Its total locked-up value once rose to over 200 million US dollars at the beginning of 2024, but now it is around 27 million US dollars.

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