The much-anticipated BLAST token, native to the Ethereum layer-2 network Blast, saw a 40% increase in value following its launch, outperforming other recent high-profile airdrops.
Initially priced at $0.02 per token, BLAST achieved a fully diluted value (FDV) of $2 billion at launch, based on data from Ambient Finance and Aevo. According to CoinMarketCap, the token’s price has since risen to $0.0281.
This positive performance contrasts with recent token launches like Ethereum layer-2 network zkSync (ZK) and LayerZero (ZRO), which have seen their prices drop by 46% and 43%, respectively.
The BLAST airdrop distributed 17% of its total supply: 7% to users who bridged Ether or USD on Blast (USDB) since late last year, 7% to users who contributed to the success of decentralised applications (DApps) on the network, and 3% to the Blur Foundation for future community airdrops.
Despite its success, the airdrop faced criticism from some market commentators on X, who felt the launch valuation was lower than expected. Arthur Cheong, co-founder of DeFiance Capital, expressed surprise at BLAST’s $2 billion FDV, anticipating a value closer to $5 billion.
The Blast network, co-founded by Blur creator Tieshun Roquerre (also known as PacMan), was previously criticised by seed investors for lacking sufficient features to justify a one-way bridging mechanism that required users to lock up their ETH for months.
The BLAST airdrop also attracted scams, similar to other high-profile airdrops this year like Wormhole. Scammers exploited the event by posing as legitimate entities, tricking users into connecting their wallets and signing fraudulent transactions. The crypto security service Scam Sniffer reported a user losing over $217,000 after falling victim to a Blast airdrop phishing scam.