Paradigm Says Ethereum Layer-2 Explosion Will Start ‘Crossed Lines’ As Users Lock Up $535M

Recently announced Ethereum Layer-2 measurement network explosion, managed by the top founder NFT Marketplace A blurhas taken more than half a billion dollars worth of locked-in cash from consumers, products and rewards—but also The planned release was met with heavy criticism.. And now, early-stage investor Paradigm has joined the list of parties with startup issues.

On Sunday, Paradigm's head of research and general partner, Dan Robinson He shared a post on X. (aka Twitter), which took Blast's work into action, featured the comments on “We Paradigm,” a popular crypto-centric venture capital firm's stance.

“There are many aspects of the explosion that I enjoy and want to connect with,” Robinson wrote. “That said, we at Paradigm think this week's ad crossed lines in both messaging and execution.

“For example, we don't agree to start the bridge before L2 or to not allow a three-month shutdown because we think it sets a bad example for other projects,” he continued. “We also think that most marketing will make a heavy team work cheaper.”

Blast is billed as an Ethereum layer-2 network that provides “a stablecoin for Ethereum,” allowing users to share (or lock) their funds in the network to earn interest-like returns.

The network also promises to offer users blurb-like “rewards,” allowing early adopters to lock in their funds before a future airdrop. Blur already has. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been awarded The BLUR token is for NFT traders, introducing a marketplace ahead of its predecessor OpenSea in the process, and that historical example could attract crypto users.

However, as users happily lock up their money ahead of Blast's Network launch in 2024 – bringing Blast's Total Value Locked (TVL) to $535 million now, according to data from DeFi call– The team also faced a lot of criticism in the process.

Essentially, early adopters are locking their money into a bridge from Ethereum to Blast—but the Blast network hasn't actually been released yet. And those funds can't be released until the main net rollout, which is expected in February, has raised security concerns because of the industry's history. Network bridges It is being exploited. A lot of crypto. Some marketers and industry builders have called Blast a Ponzi scheme because of its rewards and referral model.

Blast and Blur co-founder Teshun “Pacman” Rocker rebuked such complaints; Twitter thread on Friday There have been “numerous disputes” surrounding the explosion and trying to resolve them.

Additionally, Paradigm, one of the investors in Blast's $20 million seed round, said Friday that it had no role in Blast's rollout plans. Indeed, Pacman revealed at the time that Paradigm had asked the Blast team to “make changes” at launch and that while the Blast would take them into consideration, it would ultimately make any decisions in-house.

Robinson on Sunday credited Pacman and his team for starting the blurb that disrupted the NFT market and created huge rewards for users in the process. However, Robinson ultimately said that Paradigm and the Blast did not align on certain emission elements, and felt that Paradigm needed to try and support “best practices” in the industry instead.

“We have been in anxious discussions with the team and appreciate their willingness to engage with us, but there are still many areas of disagreement,” Robinson wrote. We always invest in strong and independent founders with whom we disagree. But we understand that people can look to us to be an example of best practices in crypto.

“We don't accept these tactics and we don't take our responsibility to the ecosystem seriously,” Robinson said.

Decrypt We reached out to both Paradigm and Blast for comment, but did not immediately hear back from either side.