Journalist
Posted:
- Blur saw renewed interest from whales as Blast gained popularity.
- Lido also reaped the benefits of the increasing interest in Blast.
Blast, the upcoming layer 2 blockchain set to launch in March, recently raised over $225 million ETH deployed [stETH]. Despite the skepticism of some crypto investors, Blast stood out as the first layer 2 network with native staking.
The network’s future plans include generating returns through Ethereum [ETH] and other assets.
It’s all a BLUR
Leading the project is PacmanBlur, co-founder of the popular NFT marketplace Blur [BLUR]. Blast’s appeal is further enhanced by the backing it has received from crypto investment firm Paradigm.
As a result of these factors, there has been a surge of interest in BLUR’s price. Lookonchain’s data showed that machibigbrother.eth, a notable investor, had purchased massive amounts of the token up to the time of publication.
The investor issued 415 ETH (equivalent to $856k) and acquired 1.54 million BLUR for $0.56 each. This continued buying activity showed how hopeful the investor was about the future of the token.
machibibbrother.eth buys $ FADE again.
He spent 415 $ETH($856K) to buy 1.54 million $ FADE again for $0.56 in the last 40 minutes.
And has purchased a total of 2.84 million $ FADE($1.56 million) versus $0.55 in the last 4 days.https://t.co/0Lmd1cjghX pic.twitter.com/EBnvRh2J6c
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) November 27, 2023
The trust this whale had in Blur was surprising, especially since Blast was speculated to be a Ponzi scheme. However, Dan Robinson, a researcher at Paradigm, recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to explain the company’s stance on this theory.
A paradigm shift
In his tweet, Robinson said Paradigm disagreed with the decision to launch the bridge before the L2 and with the three-month withdrawal restriction. They felt that these actions set a negative precedent for Blast.
He added that Paradigm originally supported Pacman because of its proven ability to develop successful products such as Namebase and Blur. So when the developer presented a vision for scaling Blur and building an L2 chain, Paradigm invested again.
Robinson acknowledged that Paradigm has communicated its concerns to the team. Regardless, he reiterated the company’s responsibility to the crypto industry and said it does not sponsor Ponzi schemes.
There are a lot of components of Blast that I’m excited about and would like to communicate with people about. That said, we at Paradigm think this week’s announcement crossed the line in both messaging and execution. For example, we do not agree with the decision to…
— Dan Robinson (@danrobinson) November 26, 2023
Impact on BLUR and LDO
Despite whale interest, BLUR’s price fell significantly. At the time of writing, the stock was trading at $0.528972 and had fallen 13.14% in the last 24 hours. Only time will tell if BLUR’s price will continue to fall, or if this is just a temporary bump in the road.
Source: Santiment
Lido, the liquid staking network, has more to gain from Blast’s popularity.
Blast collected an impressive $558 million in TVL within six days, mostly in ETH. This positioned Blast as the third largest holder of sETH, helping Lido’s market share reach 32.15%.
Realistic or not, here is the market cap of LDO in terms of BTC
If the current trend continues, an additional $1 billion inflow of ETH deposits could increase Lido’s control over Ethereum to 33%. This would help with Lido’s dominance. However, the deployment space could become more centralized.
Could Blast be the catalyst for a Lido monopoly on Ethereum?
In the last six days, Blast has attracted a whopping $558 million in TVL, with nearly $500 million in $ETH.
This positions Blast as the third largest $stETH holder, bringing Lido’s market share to 32.15%.
At the current pace, a… pic.twitter.com/F5F443GjgN
— A Monkey’s Prologue (@apes_prologue) November 26, 2023
At the time of writing, LDO was trading at $2.38, following a 5.72% price drop. This recent correction could be a good time for bulls to get LDO at a discount.
Source: Santiment