By
Leon Okwatch
July 1st, 2024
BLAST, the native token of the Ethereum layer-2 network Blast, debuted at $0.02, resulting in a fully diluted value (FDV) of $2 billion.
Blast’s (BLAST) native token is off to a blistering start, albeit against the pessimism that surrounded its recent launch. Despite the initial criticism of its valuation and functionality, the BLAST token price has defied all expectations, surging over 46% shortly after its debut.
BLAST, the native token of the Ethereum layer 2 network Blast, debuted at $0.02, resulting in a fully diluted value (FDV) of $2 billion. This figure surprised some investors, like DeFiance Capital co-founder Arthur Cheong, who was eyeing a valuation of around $5 billion.
BLAST Token Drops Impressive Performance over Other High-Profile Airdrops
Meanwhile, unlike recent airdrops for zkSync (ZK) and LayerZero (ZRO), which plummeted 46% and 43% respectively after launch, BLAST is experiencing quite an unexpected price increase. CoinMarketCap data initially showed the token sitting at $0.0293, marking a 46.5% gain. However, it has since retraced some of its steps as of publication. Up 21.76% in the last day to trade at $0.02567.
The airdrop itself distributed 17% of the total BLAST supply, with 7% allocated to users who bridged assets onto the network and 7% going to those who actively contributed to Blast’s decentralized applications (DApps). The remaining 3% went to the Blur Foundation for future community airdrops.
Good but Controversial Start
While the price surge is positive news for some, the airdrop wasn’t without some criticism. Blast, co-founded by Blur creator Tieshun Roquerre (PacMan), was previously bashed by its own seed investors regarding a one-way bridging system that locked user funds for months. As earlier mentioned with DeFiance’s Cheong, concerns also arose on social media platform X regarding the airdrop’s perceived low valuation.
Furthermore, Blast’s airdrop, similarly to others like Wormhole’s, attracted a wave of scammers. In a bid to take advantage of user excitement, these scammers create fake airdrop websites designed to steal crypto through phishing scams. One such incident identified by crypto security service Scam Sniffer resulted in a user losing over $217,000. That is, after unknowingly connecting their wallet to a fraudulent website.
Although at this time, the token price is currently on an upward trajectory, questions yet remain concerning Blast’s long-term viability and the potential for future scams surrounding its airdrop program.