Blast and the Current Crypto Cycle

Tieshun Roquerre, known as Pacman, founder of Blast, stated that the current crypto cycle lacks fundamental innovations essential for widespread adoption.

“A lot of this cycle has been driven by ETFs, by pressure, so this cycle hasn’t really played out like [previous] cycles, because it hasn’t really been a real cycle in the sense of fundamental technology changes,” he remarked during a virtual Q&A session at the Foresight 2024 event in Hong Kong.

Industry Changes in Previous Cycles

Pacman pointed out that major shifts in earlier cycles included:
– Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
– Launch of Uniswap
– Invention of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

These pivotal developments often facilitate a new rotation of capital around significant cryptocurrencies and emerging asset classes like NFTs.

The Future of NFTs

For the struggling NFT market to gain traction again, he suggested that innovations akin to how NFTs revolutionized fungible tokens are necessary.

Upcoming Project from Blur

Pacman also mentioned that Blur, the NFT marketplace he launched in 2022, is gearing up for its “biggest project” in history. He withheld specifics, stating details would be shared closer to the launch.

Current Status of Blast and Blur

The Ethereum Layer 2 network, Blast, which entered early access in November 2023, currently has a total value locked of $840.3 million, down from its peak of $2.3 billion in June, according to DeFiLlama data. Blur’s total value locked stands at $65.26 million. Recently criticized for not adequately supporting its native projects, Blur has seen its memecoin, Pacmoon, move to the Solana blockchain.

Disclaimer: Larry Cermak, CEO of The Block, is an angel investor in Blast.