• Blast TVL reaches $570 million, days after the Paradigm and Standard Crypto backed L2 launched.
• A Japanese crypto VC is reportedly eyeing a $5M investment in the platform.
• Blast’s deposit-only smart contract has attracted huge criticism.

Blast, the recently launched Layer 2 crypto project has surpassed $570 million in total value locked (TVL), according to data on Dune Analytics.

With the project’s one-way deposit contract attracting criticism including from Paradigm researcher Dan Robinson, the number of depositors looks to have fallen from the peak seen last week.

However, the L2’s value locked in ETH and stablecoins has risen to over $570 million just days after its launch. 

The Blast team also shared the milestone on their X account, noting that over 63k community members were now earning yield (approximately 4% for ETH and 5% for stablecoins). They are also amassing Blast Points.

Blast has reached $570 Million in TVL within 1 week.

63,948 community members are now earning yield (~4% for ETH and 5% for stables) + Blast Points.

There’s been incredible inbound developer interest since launch. We’ll share more for devs soon as we march towards Mainnet! pic.twitter.com/F715z8mpDa

— Blast (@Blast_L2) November 27, 2023

Funds sent to Blast are restaked on Lido and Maker, with users only likely to access withdrawals after the three-month lockup period.

Japanese crypto VC to invest $5 million in Blast

Blast was backed by both Paradigm and Standard Crypto as it looked to launch the Ethereum L2 with native yield for Ether (ETH) and stablecoins. 

According to a report on Monday, Japanese crypto investment firm CGV (Cryptoram Venture) has earmarked a $5 million special investment in Blast. The Tokyo-based crypto VC is reportedly also looking to collaborate with the Blast team to advance the L2 ecosystem’s growth.

CGV also invests in and incubates JPYW, a licensed Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin.

Japanese crypto investment firm CGV announced a $5 million investment in the Blast L2 ecosystem, aiming to collaboratively advance the development of the Blast network. CGV (Cryptogram Venture) also invest in and incubate the licensed Japanese yen stablecoin JPYW.…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 27, 2023