Blast (BLAST)

Overview

Blast is an Ethereum layer-2 network built to make transactions easier to use while adding yield features for certain assets. A layer-2 network handles activity outside Ethereum’s main chain and posts information back to Ethereum. Blast uses this approach to support applications that would be costly to run through Ethereum transactions alone. Its native token, BLAST, connects holders to the network’s governance and reward programs. (docs.blast.io)

Blast has two features that shape its design: native yield and gas revenue sharing. Native yield means eligible ETH and stablecoin balances can grow through mechanisms built into the network. Gas revenue sharing lets applications claim a portion of the transaction fees their users generate. These features give developers ways to design rewards and cover user costs. BLAST has a different role from ETH: ETH is the currency used for ordinary transaction fees on Blast, while BLAST serves governance and ecosystem purposes. (docs.blast.io)

History & Team

From launch to mobile apps

Blast was created by Pacman, the founder of the NFT marketplace Blur. The project’s early development was supported by investors including Paradigm, Standard Crypto, eGirl Capital, and Primitive Ventures. Blast’s public materials describe a team with experience in Ethereum applications and other areas of Web3. (blast.io)

Blast opened its mainnet in February 2024. Its early rewards program used two measures of participation: Points for users who brought assets to the network and Gold for activity involving decentralized applications, often called dapps. BLAST launched in June 2024, giving those measures a role in the first token distribution. (rhino.fi)

The project later changed how it delivered incentives. With the launch of Blast Mobile in January 2025, the foundation began moving away from Points and Gold toward rewards paid directly in BLAST. Blast Mobile brought together a wallet, tools for moving funds, and an Earn app in one phone-based product. The network also continued technical development; a February 2026 mainnet release included changes to its blob fee schedule. (blog.blast.io)

Technology & How It Works

An Ethereum-compatible rollup

Blast is an optimistic rollup compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, or EVM. The EVM is the system that runs Ethereum smart contracts. This compatibility lets developers use familiar Ethereum tools and adapt existing applications for Blast. As a rollup, Blast processes transactions on its own network and connects back to Ethereum for part of its underlying infrastructure. (docs.blast.io)

Users can move supported assets from Ethereum to Blast through a bridge. ETH deposited through the bridge is credited on Blast after the network processes the deposit. Supported stablecoins can be bridged into USDB, Blast’s stablecoin. Moving assets back to Ethereum follows the rollup’s withdrawal process, which Blast’s documentation says takes approximately seven days through its main bridge. (docs.blast.io)

Native yield and rebasing

Blast’s yield design treats ETH and USDB differently from ordinary balances on many blockchains. Yield on ETH is linked to Ethereum staking. USDB’s yield design is linked to an on-chain strategy involving U.S. Treasury bills. When yield is passed to a wallet through rebasing, the displayed number of units increases; a user does not need to claim each increase by hand. Yield rates can change because they depend on the underlying sources. (docs.blast.io)

For regular wallet accounts, ETH can rebase automatically. Smart contracts have more choices. A developer can configure a contract to let its ETH balance grow, collect yield separately for later claiming, or leave yield disabled. USDB also supports rebasing, with settings that applications can adjust. These choices matter when an app holds assets on behalf of users: the app’s code determines how any yield it receives is handled. (docs.blast.io)

Blast also lets dapps claim net gas revenue programmatically. A developer may use that revenue to support an application or help cover transaction costs for users. This is separate from native yield, which comes from the treatment of eligible asset balances. Together, the two features give builders more than one way to fund an app’s operations or user experience. (docs.blast.io)

Tokenomics & Utility

Supply and distribution

BLAST has a stated total supply of 100 billion tokens. The project’s published allocation divides that supply among four groups:

• Community: 50%, for incentives benefiting users and builders.
• Core contributors: about 25.5%.
• Investors: about 16.5%.
• Blast Foundation: 8%, reserved for infrastructure and ecosystem development. (docs.blast.io)

These allocations follow different release schedules. The community allocation unlocks over three years from the token launch, with distributions set by the foundation. Contributor and investor allocations have four-year schedules: 25% unlocks after the first year, followed by monthly releases over the next three years. The foundation allocation unlocks over four years. This schedule explains how tokens become available over time, apart from any decision about how to use them. (docs.blast.io)

What holders can do

BLAST holders can take part in the project’s governance process. The foundation’s bylaws describe proposals covering matters such as USDB backing, ETH staking providers, yield fees, and gas fee settings. Holders may vote on proposals that pass the required review steps. The bylaws also give the foundation a role in deciding how approved proposals are put into effect. (docs.blast.io)

BLAST also serves as an incentive token. Blast Mobile’s Earn app distributes BLAST rewards to users who deposit USDB. Holding BLAST within that app can increase the reward multiplier applied to a USDB deposit. These app-based rewards are distinct from the native yield associated with holding eligible ETH or USDB on the network. (docs.blast.io)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Blast supports the kinds of applications that run on other EVM networks, including token exchanges, lending tools, games, and NFT-related products. Its design gives developers additional ways to shape those services. For example, an app that holds ETH can be configured to receive yield, while an app generating transactions can claim gas revenue. How either benefit reaches users depends on the app itself. (blast.io)

USDB has a central place in the ecosystem. It can be used as a dollar-denominated asset within Blast applications, and it is the deposit asset for Blast Mobile’s Earn app. The mobile product also includes a smart wallet and tools to deposit, send, and use assets from a phone. Blast has used developer grants and app-focused programs to encourage teams to build for this setting. (docs.blast.io)

Advantages & Challenges

What the design makes possible

Blast combines Ethereum-compatible development with built-in tools for yield and fee sharing. Developers who already know EVM software can work with familiar contracts and tools. Regular wallet holders can receive supported native yield through rebasing, while app builders can choose how to configure yield for their contracts. Gas revenue sharing adds another option for funding an app or reducing what its users pay. (blast.io)

What makes it more complex

Those same features add decisions that simpler networks may not require. Developers must choose contract yield settings and decide how their applications account for changing balances. Users may also encounter different forms of return: native ETH or USDB yield, and BLAST rewards from a separate mobile app. Understanding which asset produces which reward is important to understanding the product. (docs.blast.io)

Blast’s incentive model has changed since launch, from Points and Gold toward direct BLAST distributions. Its longer-term development therefore depends in part on whether applications attract use beyond reward programs. The main bridge’s multi-step withdrawal process is another practical difference from transferring assets within a single network. (blog.blast.io)

Where to Buy & Wallets

BLAST is available on Kraken and Upbit. Availability and supported purchase methods vary by location and platform. BLAST also appears in applications on Blast, where users can hold it in a compatible wallet and interact with services that support the token. (kraken.com)

MetaMask can be set up for Blast Mainnet as a custom EVM network. Blast’s network documentation lists 81457 as the mainnet chain ID and ETH as its currency symbol. Blast Mobile offers another wallet option through a phone-based smart wallet. The published BLAST token address is 0xb1a5700fA2358173Fe465e6eA4Ff52E36e88E2ad; the address identifies the token within the network. (docs.blast.io)

Regulatory & Compliance

Rules concerning BLAST and related services depend on the jurisdiction and the activity involved. In the United States, the application of securities law to a crypto asset or transaction depends on its features and the circumstances in which it is offered or sold. In the European Union, the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework covers specified crypto-asset activities and service providers. In the United Kingdom, firms marketing qualifying cryptoassets to consumers must follow the financial promotions regime. These frameworks address different questions from the technical rules of the Blast network. (sec.gov)

Shariah compliance raises a separate question about the source and form of returns. Islamic finance principles prohibit riba, commonly understood to include conventional interest. Blast describes its ETH yield as coming from staking and its USDB yield design as drawing on a Treasury-bill-linked strategy. That distinction matters when assessing the network’s different features: Treasury-bill-linked returns present an interest-related consideration, while a judgment about BLAST itself also involves its governance and incentive uses. Blast’s project documentation does not provide a project-wide Shariah classification. (imf.org)

Future Outlook

Blast’s stated direction places BLAST incentives, mobile access, and developer tools alongside its rollup technology. The move to direct token rewards gives users and app builders a more immediate form of incentive than the earlier Points and Gold system. The mobile wallet provides a place where those rewards and Blast-based applications can meet. (blog.blast.io)

A lasting role for the network will rest on the applications people continue to use and on how well its yield and gas-sharing tools serve those applications. Governance gives holders a process for discussing changes to parts of the system, while continued mainnet releases show that the underlying network remains an active area of development. (docs.blast.io)

Summary

Blast is an Ethereum-compatible layer-2 network organized around native yield, gas revenue sharing, and applications built for its ecosystem. BLAST gives holders a governance role and supports the project’s incentive programs; ETH remains the network’s transaction-fee currency. From its early airdrop to Blast Mobile, the project has developed ways for users and builders to participate in an Ethereum-based on-chain economy. (docs.blast.io)