Blast Optimistic Rollup, an Ethereum layer 2 solution, officially launched its mainnet on February 29 at 9 PM GMT. Since November, more than $2.3 billion in stablecoins and ether have been listed on Blast, allowing users to earn interest and staking rewards.
Blast intends to entice developers by dedicating 50% of its community airdrop to mainnet protocols.
Winners of the Big Bang competition, which garnered over 3,000 protocols, will get a bonus.
The launch allows the first withdrawals from the network after deposits have been frozen since Blast’s beta debut. The announcement comes following criticism from Paradigm’s Dan Robinson on the difficulty to withdraw funds.
Some users discovered a way to deposit coins into Blast ahead of the official launch by sending them to a smart contract address. Over $50 million has already been traded, primarily in memecoins like BlastCat. However, depositing early has dangers because tokens have the ability to remove all liquidity.
Blast is now operational, and it is the seventh largest blockchain and the second largest Ethereum layer 2 in terms of total value, with over $2.3 billion. Users can still collect Blast points until the token’s airdrop in May. Blast futures trading on Aevo suggests a fully diluted valuation of $6.7 billion.
Read also: Blast Mainnet Launch Sees $400 Million In ETH Withdrawals
