Blast a flash in the pan? Or the next entry point for mass adoption?
Blast is controversial; can it turn itself and the L2 track from "non-consensus" to "consensus"?Author: Joe, Foresight News
Could Blast become the next blockchain product to achieve mass adoption? Or is it just a flash in the pan, starting to decline after the airdrop?
On June 26, 2024, Blast distributed its airdrop and launched its token on exchanges like Coinbase and Upbit, but it has not yet launched on Binance or OKX. As of July 1, Blast's market capitalization was approximately $380 million, ranking second in its sector only to Arbitrum ($2.6 billion), OP ($2 billion), Starknet ($900 million), and ZK ($650 million); its TVL reached $1.45 billion, second only to Arbitrum ($2.8 billion) and Base ($1.57 billion).
As the "youngest" Ethereum L2, Blast has quickly risen to the top five in just six months, showing impressive performance in both TVL and user numbers. The founder, Pacman, born in 1999, is a Web3 serial entrepreneur who founded Blur, currently the largest NFT exchange globally (with a market share of 65%), at the age of 22, and then established Blast. The two sectors Pacman chose are among the most promising in the crypto industry in recent cycles, which has led to high expectations from users for Blast.
However, while collecting various data, Blast has also faced controversies, from being questioned whether it is truly an L2 (due to insufficient decentralization and a Web2 product strategy) to accusations of diluting points during the airdrop ("cutting big holders"), delaying the airdrop from May to June, and users questioning the final airdrop benefits of Blast. The controversies surrounding Blast may be the most significant among all Ethereum L2s.
So, amidst all the controversy, what kind of L2 is Blast? Why is there so much controversy, yet it still attracts a significant amount of traffic and TVL data? Does it have the opportunity to stand out among Ethereum L2s and break through to new user segments first? Or is it just a fleeting moment, running out of new user acquisition strategies after the airdrop? (This article focuses more on the advantages and strengths demonstrated by Blast, exploring its innovative side, which does not imply agreement with the aforementioned controversies surrounding Blast.)
Pacman, Founder of Blast
"Catfish Specialist"
At just 25 years old, Pacman has a significant influence on the current cryptocurrency industry's technology and ecosystem. Looking across the entire crypto industry, after Vitalik, Pacman is one of the few young individuals capable of bringing sustained and substantial changes. This stems from the two companies he founded: Blur and Blast.
These two companies have become "catfish" in the "NFT" and "Ethereum L2" sectors, rapidly stirring changes in the entire industry ecosystem.
For example, in the NFT industry, OpenSea, established in 2017, was once the leader in the NFT market. However, after Blur was founded in March 2022, it quickly surpassed OpenSea within a year by launching a series of trading tools and features that attracted more professional and high-frequency traders, becoming the leader in the NFT sector.
In the Ethereum L2 sector, Pacman seems to hope to replicate this success, as Blast has become a standout in this sector in just six months. According to the latest data from Defillama (as of July 1):
- In terms of TVL, Blast reached $1.45 billion, ranking in the top three of its sector, second only to Arbitrum ($2.8 billion) and Base ($1.57 billion);
- In terms of Ethereum ecosystem protocol usage, Blast Bridge ranks second, surpassing Base and OP, only behind Arbitrum Bridge;
- In terms of market capitalization, Blast reached $380 million, ranking in the top five of its sector, only behind Arbitrum ($2.6 billion), OP ($2 billion), Starknet ($900 million), and ZK ($650 million);
- In the stablecoin sector, Blast's stablecoin USDB has a market capitalization of $390 million, ranking 11th among all stablecoins;
- In the native DEX sector, Blast ranks third, with its Thruster ($55 million) only behind Base's Aero ($120 million) and Arbitrum's Camelot ($64 million) in terms of 24-hour trading volume.
In summary, Blast has shown impressive performance in overall TVL, stablecoins, NFTs, DEX, etc., and has clearly become a strong competitor alongside Arbitrum and Base, emerging as one of the most promising ecosystems, outpacing other L2s in many aspects. It is worth mentioning that the meme within the Blast ecosystem has also performed well; for example, Andy in the Blast ecosystem has reached $28 million and is expected to surpass Pacmoon to become the largest meme in its ecosystem.
As an industry "catfish," Blur has become the leader in NFTs after more than a year of development, while Blast, having experienced about six months of growth, is trying to establish a foothold among the top three Ethereum L2s, which has also put pressure on many L2s. Following Blast, some L2 projects have also chosen to use a points system for airdrops, which has sparked further controversy in the community.
Can Blast Become the Next Mass Adoption Product?
Those bearish on Blast have various opinions, while those bullish on Blast tend to share similar views.
One practitioner pointed out: Pacman is adept at systematic innovation, always able to strike at the heart of the matter and identify user pain points. The success of Blur largely stems from Pacman recognizing the needs of professional and high-frequency users and creating a series of customized trading tools and features to attract them to trade on its platform. Blast aims to create an image of a blockchain industry APP Store, becoming the entry point for all users into the blockchain world.
All L2s aspire to be the entry point for users into the blockchain world, and Blast's advantage lies in the product experience, as products within the Blast ecosystem generally feature "simplicity and ease of use."
- In terms of DEX, the Thruster product experience is smooth, and the conversion between tokens within the Blast ecosystem is convenient;
- In terms of social aspects, the Fantasy interface is beautiful and shows signs of becoming a small hit, attempting to prove the blockchain data value of each account through metrics like Twitter activity and follower count;
- In gaming, YOLO GAMES has performed well, with new mini-games constantly emerging and showing signs of small hits, attracting 6.7 million unique users within two weeks;
- In terms of the points system, it has pioneered the L2 points airdrop system (Points+Gold), and now Scroll and Linea are also beginning to experiment with a points system;
- In the NFT sector, the largest NFT exchange, Blur, has found a real demand entry point (professional and high-frequency NFT players) and has surpassed OpenSea during the bear market.
It is important to note that any DApp can add itself to the official list on Blast's website, which means that Blast does not guarantee the safety of users' funds while experiencing these applications. During the airdrop period, there were multiple instances of user assets being stolen within the Blast ecosystem, which may continue to be a concern in the future. This also poses a challenge for Blast as it seeks to further break through existing user barriers.
Blast and Base are currently the star L2 projects. Their commonalities include: strong recognition of advantages, high innovation and disruption capabilities, and continuous attempts to reach new users. However, there are also many differences between the two.
One major distinguishing feature of Base is its strong lineage, being directly incubated by Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. As the dominance and influence of the U.S. and Wall Street over the crypto world rapidly rise, Base naturally assumes part of this asset. Particularly in the meme sector, Base has become the next Solana, currently being the L2 with the most frequent meme trading and the highest trading volume. Base has consistently been on the path of breaking barriers; from the explosive popularity of the social application Friend Tech in August 2023, generating $710,000 in protocol revenue in a day, to the large-scale breakout of the social protocol Farcaster in February 2024, becoming the top-ranked Web3 social protocol; and from March 2024 to now, Base has been actively attracting new users and transactions into its ecosystem through visible meme trading.
On the other hand, one major distinguishing feature of Blast is that its ecosystem is rich with distinctive "flagship products" that have strong practicality. For example, the stablecoin USDB can carve out a niche in the competitive stablecoin market; in the NFT market, it has the support of leaders like Blur, capturing over 6% of the market. In high-demand financial products like lending (Juice) and contracts (Bloom), they achieve simplicity and ease of use, while in emerging Web3 sectors like social (Fantasy) and gaming (YOLO GAMES), there are differentiated and recognizable products leading the way. The simplicity and richness of products in the Blast ecosystem have become its advantages in attracting more users into the on-chain world.
During the airdrop process, Blast also launched a mobile APP, which is relatively rare among L2s. From launching L2, introducing airdrop points systems, launching Blast Gold, launching Multiples, to now launching the mobile version of the Blast APP, Blast has consistently provided users with novel experiences. For an L2 that has only been developing for half a year, the frequency of innovation from Blast cannot be underestimated, giving it a chance to compete for the L2 leader and the next blockchain mass adoption entry point.
Of course, Blast's openness to all Web3 products entering its ecosystem also means that users' funds face significant risks. Additionally, whether Blast can maintain continuous and frequent innovation after the first round of airdrops and bring more fresh gameplay to the community is also a point of skepticism. It seems that Blast still has a long way to go to achieve the goals of becoming the "L2 leader" and the "next blockchain mass adoption entry point."
