Blast the Paradigm-backed Ethereum layer-2 network that once held more than $2.3 billion in total value locked, is shutting down, saying that running the network costs more than it earns and that it has no credible path to economic sustainability. It joins a growing list of Ethereum layer-2s—including Zero Network and Silicon Network—that are winding down this year.

The team announced the decision on Friday in a post on X, stating that maintaining the network now costs more than it generates and that it sees no credible route to keeping the chain economically viable. "As a result, we've made the difficult decision to wind Blast down," the team wrote.

Layer-2 networks hold user funds in bridge contracts on Ethereum's mainnet, so winding down means moving those assets back to the base chain. Users are being asked to do exactly that, including balances held through Blast's progressive web app (PWA). The network said it will shorten its withdrawal delay to 24 hours, but withdrawals will first pause for roughly a week while the team pulls the network's assets out of Lido, a liquid staking protocol—a window in which the standard withdrawal route will be unavailable.

Users have until Oct. 26 to withdraw through Blast's standard interface. After that date, funds will remain retrievable, but only by interacting directly with Blast's bridge contracts on Ethereum—a more technical process than the app-based flow, making the deadline the practical cutoff for most holders. Blast said it will publish instructions before the deadline.

Launched in November 2023 by the team behind NFT marketplace Blur, Blast promised automatic yield on ETH and stablecoin balances. Venture firm Paradigm co-led its $20 million seed round, though the firm publicly criticized the launch's messaging at the time. Users deposited more than $1.1 billion before the network went live, and more than $2.3 billion was locked in its bridge by the February 2024 mainnet launch.

The project's momentum faded quickly. Blast briefly stopped producing blocks following Ethereum's Dencun upgrade in March 2024. Its June 2024 airdrop, which allocated $354 million worth of BLAST tokens to users, left many recipients disappointed. By that point, total value locked had already slid roughly 30% from its $2.3 billion peak.

Blast is not the only layer-2 to fold this year, and the string of shutdowns has drawn attention to layer-2 economics, in which the cost of operating a network has to be covered by what it earns—the very imbalance Blast cited. In May, wallet maker Zerion said it would wind down Zero Network, its gasless Ethereum layer-2, after about 18 months of operation, giving users until July 31 to bridge out their funds. Silicon Network, an Ethereum layer-2 associated with South Korean exchange Korbit, stopped accepting deposits on Sept. 2 and has given users until Dec. 31 to withdraw, with roughly $9.75 million still on the chain, according to L2Beat data. By peak value, Blast dwarfs the rest: its $2.3 billion high-water mark is more than 200 times the amount still sitting on Silicon Network.

The retrenchment extends beyond layer-2s. Hong Kong-founded exchange CoinEx said last month it will close on Dec. 22, joining BitMEX and BitMart in a wave of crypto exchange shutdowns this year. With Blast's Oct. 26 interface deadline, CoinEx's December closure and Silicon Network's Dec. 31 withdrawal cutoff all clustered in the coming months, the shutdown wave now comes with a series of hard dates for users to move their funds.