Paradigm criticizes Blast’s launch strategy and marketing tactics

Paradigm, a leading VC firm investing in crypto startups, has openly criticized the marketing strategy of Blast, a startup in which it is the first investor.

Dan Robinson, head of research at Paradigm, expressed concern about Blast’s approach, stating that it sets a worrying precedent for other projects in the blockchain space.

Criticism from Dan Robinson

In a statement released on X, Robinson expressed Paradigm’s disagreement with Blast’s decision to launch a bridge before launching its layer-2 (L2) blockchain and the choice to limit withdrawals to three months.

– We believe this sets a bad precedent for other projects – noted Robinson, highlighting concerns about how these decisions could impact the broader crypto ecosystem. Robinson also criticized the startup’s marketing approach.

Despite the criticisms, Robinson acknowledged the expertise of Blast’s team, calling them ‘world-class developers’ with a history of developing exceptional products. This recognition is rooted in the past successes of Blast’s founders, including projects like Namebase and the NFT marketplace Blur.

However, while the capabilities of Blast’s team are acknowledged, it is important to note that this does not imply approval of their recent strategies. Robinson added that Paradigm invests in strong, independent founders with whom they do not always agree, and that they do not support such tactics and take their responsibility in the ecosystem seriously.

Criticism from Jarrod Watts

Recent actions by Blast have not only drawn criticism from Paradigm. Jarrod Watts, a developer relations engineer at Polygon Labs, expressed concern about the centralization of the blockchain, citing it as a threat to security.

Watts further elaborated that Blast operates as a ‘3/5 multisig’. This means that if an attacker gains access to the keys of 3 out of 5 team members, the security of all cryptocurrencies in Blast’s contracts will be compromised.

Watts also disagreed with the classification of Blast as a layer-2, arguing that it simply collects funds from users and deposits them into protocols like Lido without using bridges or tests.

He also expressed concern about the lack of a withdrawal feature, suggesting that the commitment of the developers to implement the withdrawal function will determine users’ ability to withdraw their funds in the future. Blast has also attracted the attention of scammers, with a victim losing $130,000 in a recent identity theft incident.

Amid these concerns, Blast has secured over $567 million in total value locked (TVL) since its launch. The project has also planned an airdrop for January, which continues to attract the attention of the crypto community.