{"id":26363,"date":"2023-12-09T00:27:44","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T00:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/web3-protocol-blast-reaches-823m-tvl-despite-bugs-and-controversy\/"},"modified":"2023-12-09T00:27:46","modified_gmt":"2023-12-09T00:27:46","slug":"web3-protocol-blast-reaches-823m-tvl-despite-bugs-and-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/web3-protocol-blast-reaches-823m-tvl-despite-bugs-and-controversy\/","title":{"rendered":"Web3 protocol Blast reaches $823M TVL despite bugs and controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Web3 protocol Blast has reached $823 million in total value locked (TVL) just weeks after its controversial launch in mid-November, with a 26.5% gain over the past seven days, according to data from DefiLlama.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Behind Blast\u2019s speedy growth is its unique business model. The protocol\u00a0is a scaling solution for the Ethereum network and offers native yields to users who stake their funds. Users staking are promised a 4% yield on Ether (ETH) and a 5% yield on stablecoins.<\/p>\n

However, the protocol\u2019s emergence has been marked by challenges and unpopular developments. On Nov. 30, Blast revealed<\/a> that a user staking on the protocol saw $100,000 disappear after converting a deposit to Dai (DAI). The issue was caused by a misconfigured slippage parameter on the user interface, resulting in Blast paying the user $10,000 in compensation.<\/p>\n

Blast\u2019s TVL since its bridge launch on Nov. 20. Source: DefiLlama<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 10% compensation will be covered by some of Blast\u2019s $20 million capital raised from investors such as Paradigm \u2014 the same venture capital firm that lost $278 million on bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. But Blast\u2019s relationship with Paradigm faces its own challenges. <\/p>\n

In late November, the head of research at the venture capital (VC) firm, Dan Robinson, shared a statement expressing his disagreement with Blast\u2019s strategy of launching a bridge before its layer-2 network goes live. Blast anticipates releasing its testnet and having a developer\u2019s airdrop in January, while its mainnet should be available in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think it sets a bad precedent for other projects,\u201d Robinson wrote<\/a> on X (formerly Twitter), adding that much of the marketing strategy was cheapening the work of a serious team.<\/p>\n

Blast and Paradigm have been working together to address the issues, but the VC firm\u2019s role in the startup\u2019s decision-making remains unclear, as does Blast\u2019s governance structure and technical documentation.<\/p>\n

Another noteworthy discussion surrounding the protocol is the lack of withdrawal functionality. Users depositing and staking on Blast trust that the team will add a withdrawal feature at some point in the coming months. <\/p>\n

Despite the challenges, Blast has attracted over 75,000 members in just a few weeks, and it is currently hiring<\/a> senior engineers for its upcoming deployments. <\/p>\n

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