The native BLUR token has also seen positive price movements.
2024 is just a few days away and we already have many highly anticipated blockchain projects in the works. Even though it's a holiday, cryptocurrency lovers are still participating in these projects and many of them look very promising. Take for example Blast, a layer 2 blockchain launched by the creators of Blur. The blockchain won't be fully operational until February 2024, but it has already reported an impressive $1.1 billion in deposits.
The explosion causes a sensation
According to publicly available data, users have so far deposited $1 billion in wrapped Ether and $103 million in DAI. This is a very encouraging sign, as it shows that the community is committed to the project and is putting its money where its mouth is.
And with all the investment they are making in Blast, users have many rewards to look forward to. More specifically, there is a 5% return on staked assets that will be released in May 2024 via airdrop after the platform has been live for a few months. On top of that, Blast offers a referral program that rewards those who refer others. This is similar to what Blur, the creators of Blast, did when they launched an nft platform.
While this has clearly been effective in attracting new users, it has not been without controversy. Some people have compared it to a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme and have expressed concern that only the first generation of users will reap tangible benefits.
But clearly, Blur is unfazed by this criticism as the same tactic was applied to Blast. Interestingly, one of the vocal critics of this strategy was Dan Robinson, head of research at Paradigm, one of Blur's biggest backers. He said in a tweet that, while he is excited about certain aspects of Blast, he does not agree with the marketing tactics used.
On Twitter/X, he saying:
“We do not agree with the decision to launch the bridge before L2, or not allow withdrawals for three months, as we believe it sets a bad precedent for other projects. We also think that a lot of marketing cheapens the work of a serious team.”
This rejection has also not stopped users from depositing funds on the platform and referring others. The native BLUR token has also seen positive price movements as a result of this. All of this success could very well prompt more high-profile projects to adopt the same marketing model, which will only add to the controversy surrounding it.
But with just a few months left until its release date, it will be interesting to see how Blast is received once it is fully available.
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