Blast Shuts Down Its Ethereum Layer‑2 and Orders Users to Exit by Oct. 26

Overview

• Blast announced the wind‑down on Oct. 2 and told users they must withdraw assets through the project’s interface by Oct. 26 to avoid manual contract recoveries.
• The team will pause withdrawals for roughly one week to pull assets it holds in Lido and says normal withdrawals will resume afterward with a shortened 24‑hour delay.
• After the Oct. 26 interface cutoff, funds will still be recoverable but only by interacting directly with Blast’s bridge contracts on Ethereum and the project says it will publish step‑by‑step instructions.
• Key on‑chain metrics have collapsed since mid‑2024, with total value locked falling from more than $2 billion to low tens of millions, monthly revenue near zero, and the BLAST token down roughly 98% from its peak.
• The closure highlights pressure on smaller layer‑2s from rising security and operating costs and tougher competition from large platforms, and it forces users and builders to move assets and plan for extra technical steps if they miss the deadline.