Blast Layer 2 Unveils Tokenomics Ahead of Airdrop

Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network Blast is slated to launch its native token later today, with 17% of its supply airdropped to early adopters.

The airdrop will be split across Blast and affiliated NFT marketplace Blur’s multi-faceted points program, with 7% going to Blast points, 7% to Blast gold, and 3% to be distributed amongst the Blur ecosystem.

Despite being the sixth largest blockchain with $1.65 billion in total value locked (TVL), Blast remains one of the most polarizing topics on Crypto Twitter. Many market participants are skeptical of the token’s expected valuation following underwhelming airdrops from ZkSync and LayerZero, with some predicting that activity on the chain will cease to exist after the airdrop.

On-Chain Metrics & Native Yield

The current activity is certainly bolstered by token incentives, but Blast’s on-chain metrics are strong compared to competing blockchains. Blast is currently the second largest Ethereum scaling solution by TVL per DeFiLlama and also boasts the highest user fees among L2s.

Blast is an optimistic rollup like Arbitrum and Optimism, and was the first scaling solution to introduce native yield.

On Blast, all ETH yields 4%, and its native stablecoin, USDB, yields 5%. This means that users earn yield for keeping their assets on the chain without the need to interact directly with DeFi protocols.

This native yield is generated by ETH staking and RWA protocols via an automatic rebasing system.

Controversial Project

Blast is developed by the same team responsible for the leading NFT platform Blur, which is also no stranger to controversy.

Blur displaced OpenSea as the dominant NFT trading platform following its token launch in 2023, but its buying, selling and lending incentives have been criticized by many NFT collectors, with some going as far as to say, “Blur killed NFTs.”

The latest season of Blur farming featured a previously undisclosed amount of Blast incentives. Today, Blast announced that Season 3 will distribute 0.5% of the Blast supply amongst Blur traders and 1.5% to BLUR stakers. The remainder of Blur’s token allocation will be reserved for future uses.

The relatively small allocation to Blur is likely to put many of the largest Blur liquidity providers at significant losses, considering the $BLUR token has fallen nearly 70% from its all-time high in February.

The most vocal of the farmers, Cbb0Fe, amassed 25% of all points from Blur season 3 and took to social media to say, “Made $15m profit from Blur Season 1 and Season 2 but definitely never ever again touching anything related to Blur/Blast team.”

It is worth noting that the top 0.1% of eligible wallets must vest their airdrop linearly over a 6 month period.