Star projects leaving, the Blast ecosystem 'losing its luster': A farewell that had long been foreshadowed.
Written by: KarenZ, Foresight News
On July 15, 2023, at midnight Beijing time, the decentralized card game of the Blast ecosystem, Fantasy.top, announced its migration to the Base ecosystem and will support users in transferring their assets to the Base network.
Upon the news, the community's reaction was not one of regret, but rather a sense of 'finally'—as if the ending that had long been written was turned to the last page.
Fantasy.top: The 'flag bearer' of the Blast ecosystem
Fantasy.top is a decentralized social card game based on the Blast network, which attracts a large number of users by converting the social media performance of crypto KOLs into NFT cards and combining it with gamification mechanisms. Since its mainnet launch on May 1, 2024, Fantasy.top has rapidly become a star project in the Blast ecosystem.
According to DeFiLlama, in the past 24 hours, Fantasy.top contributed 83% of the protocol revenue for the Blast ecosystem (approximately $10,566); in the past week, the share was 78%, and in the past month, it was 56%. Additionally, according to Nansen data, in the past 6 months, Fantasy.top has been the third-highest application in terms of user transaction volume on the Blast network.
The existence of Fantasy.top is an important pillar for maintaining the 'activity' of the Blast ecosystem. Now that it is migrating, it undoubtedly adds insult to injury for the already desolate Blast.
Not just Fantasy.top: The 'exodus' of the Blast ecosystem
In fact, Fantasy.top is not the first project to escape from Blast. From the overall data and numerous cases of exodus, we can clearly see the loss of projects and users in the Blast ecosystem, as well as the trend of Blast heading towards decline.
In terms of data, according to DeFiLlama, the total locked value in the Blast ecosystem's DeFi is currently only $87 million, down over 95% from its peak of $2.2 billion. Additionally, according to Nansen data, the number of daily active addresses on the Blast network reached over 180,000 at the end of June 2024, but has since dropped sharply, maintaining only between 2,000 and 5,000 in recent months. Moreover, the daily contract deployment volume has fallen to double digits or just over a hundred, and the number of token deployments has even dropped to single digits, indicating a decline in developer enthusiasm.
Source: Nansen
Typical project migration cases
pump.fun: Launched on Solana in January 2024, it briefly launched on Blast over a month later but did not gain much attention and stopped operations on Blast a few months later.
The lottery application Megapot (gambling application, please do not use) also migrated from Blast to the Base ecosystem in March 2025.
Ethos Network: Originally planned to launch on Blast, ultimately chose to launch directly on Base. Ethos Network is currently a popular reputation protocol in the Base ecosystem.
Blast BIG BANG award-winning project Baseline: later also migrated to the Base ecosystem.
These cases collectively point to one conclusion: Blast is facing severe challenges in attracting and retaining projects. Despite being highly anticipated as a 'native yield-generating Ethereum Layer2', its ecological development has clearly failed to deliver on early promises.
Recent turmoil in the Blast ecosystem
Recently, negative signals or turmoil in the Blast ecosystem have further heightened market concerns about it:
In May 2025, Blast announced that it would not renew its service agreement with Safe, but would support access to multi-signature wallets via BrahmaFi's frontend or self-hosted frontends. Pacman explained that there are many reasons, one of which is that there are already many alternative solutions supporting Blast. However, this decision has been interpreted by outsiders as a contraction of ecological infrastructure.
The following month, the Blast ecosystem DEX Thruster announced that it would gradually cease operations. Thruster's official explanation stated that this was the result of a comprehensive assessment of Thruster's current state, expectations, surrounding ecosystem, and future prospects. This also reflects the lack of confidence from developers in the Blast ecosystem.
Due to the above events, the SocialFi project EarlyFans in the Blast ecosystem previously stated that 'in light of Blast's decision not to renew its service agreement with Safe and the cessation of Thruster's operations, the risk of keeping assets on the Blast network is increasing, and it withdrew the EARLY token's LP (worth $70,000) from Thruster.' Of course, ultimately, EarlyFans transitioned to 'maintenance mode' and shifted to developing a fully native mobile application 8020.
A series of chain reactions indicate that the trust foundation of the Blast ecosystem is crumbling. When infrastructure cooperation breaks down and core applications stall, developers and users will naturally choose more stable networks.
Why has Blast moved from the spotlight to decline?
The fall of Blast from its peak is due to a combination of multiple factors:
1. Significant cooling of NFTs: The deep binding between Blast and Blur, along with the cooling of the NFT market, has had a huge impact on Blast.
2. Mismatch between points economy and real demand: Blast quickly boosted TVL with 'deposit to mine' and 'points for airdrops', but many addresses came solely to farm points, and the protocol layer lacks reasons for users to stay.
3. Token prices: The prices of BLAST and BLUR have fallen over 90% from historical highs, severely undermining the confidence of investors and developers. In the crypto market, token prices often form a positive feedback loop with ecosystem activity, and the continued slump in prices further weakens Blast's attractiveness.
4. Lack of ecological diversity: The DApp ecosystem of Blast is far less diverse than competitors like Base. Most users only cross-chain to earn airdrop points, and their willingness to actually participate in application interactions is extremely low, leading to a continuous decline in network activity.
5. Narrative exhaustion and competition: 'Native yield' was once the core selling point of Blast, but as the market lost freshness in its narrative and the ecosystem failed to produce breakthrough applications, being surpassed by competitors became inevitable.
Summary
The departure of Fantasy.top is undoubtedly a testament to the diminishing appeal of the Blast ecosystem. When incentive mechanisms are no longer universal and narratives lose freshness, developers will naturally gravitate towards more stable, liquid, and genuinely user-friendly networks.
Looking back at the rise and fall of Blast, its founder attracted a group of excellent developers through early marketing, but failed to build the infrastructure and user stickiness necessary for sustainable ecological development. This once again confirms the brutal law of the crypto world: relying on short-term speculation and traffic tricks may win temporary attention, but only by truly addressing user needs and building a healthy ecosystem can one establish a foothold in fierce competition.
The migration wave from Blast to Base is not just the choice of a single project, but an inevitable trend of 'de-bubbling' in the Layer2 track.
