Blockchain networks Blast and Abstract are shutting down after deciding that running their own chains no longer made economic sense. Yet some networks still operating are earning even less from transaction fees.
- The Coinformer found several Ethereum Layer-2s collected less than $1,000 in fees over the latest 30 days, showing just how little transaction demand some surviving chains are monetizing.
- Manta Pacific, an Ethereum Layer-2 built by Manta Network, also failed to cover even its measured settlement and data costs in July, August and September, before salaries, marketing or other operating expenses are counted.
- For this story, The Coinformer used DefiLlama fee data and growthepie estimates of revenue after settlement and data costs.
Two shutdowns put the numbers in focus
Blast, an Ethereum Layer-2 that once held more than $2 billion in assets, said on Oct. 2 that operating costs had overtaken revenue and that it no longer saw a credible path to sustainability.
Four days later, Abstract, the consumer-focused Layer-2 built by Pudgy Penguins parent Igloo, also announced its own closure. The network is due to stop operating on Dec. 15 after Igloo spent an eight-figure sum supporting it.
The two chains had followed very different playbooks. Blast leaned into DeFi and native yield, while Abstract focused on consumer apps, gaming and brands including Disney and Red Bull Racing. Still, both ended up closing.
The gap between chains is enormous
At the top end, users are still paying millions of dollars a month to transact. Over the latest 30 days, DefiLlama showed:
The chains still collecting millions
Transaction fees over 30 days · selected networks · USD
| Network | Fees in USD | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Solana | 27909553.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Ethereum | 18339529.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Robinhood Chain | 8931304.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Base | 4528167.00 | No closure status assigned |
Source: DefiLlama; The Coinformer analysis. Data retrieved Oct. 9, 2026.
Fees paid by users, not company profits.
- Solana, a Layer-1 blockchain — roughly $27.9 million.
- Ethereum, a Layer-1 blockchain — about $18.3 million.
- Robinhood Chain — roughly $8.9 million.
- Base, Coinbase's Ethereum Layer-2 — roughly $4.5 million.
- Arbitrum, an Ethereum Layer-2 — roughly $676,000.
- Starknet, a zero-knowledge Ethereum Layer-2 — above $225,000.
- OP Mainnet, Optimism's Ethereum Layer-2 — nearly $86,000.
For Layer-2s, some of that revenue goes straight back out again to pay for settlement and data availability.
Growthepie's figures showed Arbitrum, Starknet and OP Mainnet still brought in more than those measured blockchain costs.
Mode and Manta Pacific bring in less than $1,000 a month
Mode, an Ethereum Layer-2 built around DeFi and on-chain apps, collected roughly $586 in transaction fees over the latest 30 days, while Manta Pacific generated about $876, according to DefiLlama.
Both were below Blast's roughly $4,300 over the same window and far below Abstract's roughly $121,500, putting Mode and Manta Pacific among the weakest fee-generating Layer-2s in the group reviewed.
Those Blast and Abstract figures include activity after their shutdown announcements, so they don't show exactly what either chain was earning when the decision to close was made.
Some survivors earn less than Blast
Transaction fees over 30 days · selected Ethereum L2s · USD
| Network | Fees in USD | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | 586.49 | No closure status assigned |
| Manta Pacific | 875.74 | No closure status assigned |
| Scroll | 1966.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Blast | 4325.00 | Closure announced |
Source: DefiLlama; The Coinformer analysis. Data retrieved Oct. 9, 2026.
† Blast has announced its closure. The window includes activity after that announcement. Fees are not profits.
The Coinformer also reviewed 90 days of growthepie data through Oct. 8 to see whether Mode and Manta Pacific were simply having a weak month.
- Mode retained about $898 after measured settlement and data costs across the period, equal to roughly $10 a day before salaries or other off-chain expenses.
- Manta Pacific recorded a deficit of about $1,312. Its measured balance was negative in July, August and September, meaning transaction fees didn't cover even the blockchain costs included in growthepie's narrower calculation.
For instance, Mode also operates products beyond blockspace, including an AI-assisted derivatives platform.
Manta Pacific runs CeDeFi products spanning centralized and decentralized finance and raised $25 million in 2023, per DefiLlama.
Those businesses may provide other sources of income, but public data doesn't show how much cash either team has left or how long it could support the chain.
Some projects are already changing course
Elsewhere, several teams are moving away from the idea that they need to run a public blockchain indefinitely.
- Scroll, an Ethereum Layer-2 network, outlined a possible move toward a permissioned chain in a Sept. 24 governance update, alongside its expansion into consumer AI through Compass, a travel app. A vote is expected by year-end, with a possible transition in early 2027.
- Lisk, another Ethereum Layer-2 that previously operated as its own Layer-1 blockchain, has gone further. Founder Max Kordek said in August that the company would shift toward financial services software for businesses and shut the network on Oct. 31, with developers offered a migration route to Celo.
From millions in fees to a few hundred dollars
30-day transaction fees · selected networks · logarithmic scale
- Higher: $1M+
- Middle: $10K–<$1M
- Lower: <$10K
| Network | Fees in USD | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Solana | 27909553.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Ethereum | 18339529.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Robinhood Chain | 8931304.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Base | 4528167.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Arbitrum | 676456.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Starknet | 225778.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Abstract | 121502.00 | Closure announced |
| OP Mainnet | 85783.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Blast | 4325.00 | Closure announced |
| Scroll | 1966.00 | No closure status assigned |
| Manta Pacific | 875.74 | No closure status assigned |
| Mode | 586.49 | No closure status assigned |
Source: DefiLlama; The Coinformer analysis. Data retrieved Oct. 9, 2026.
Bands describe fee income, not profitability or shutdown risk. † Closure announced; the window includes activity after the announcements.
Abstract itself shows how little app revenue can mean for the chain underneath. The project said businesses built on its network had generated more than $40 million in revenue. But that money belonged to those businesses and didn't become revenue for Abstract or Igloo.
"We could no longer justify taking from the Pudgy Penguins business," Luca Netz, Igloo's chief executive, wrote on X while explaining the shutdown.
Abstract had users, apps and recognizable brands, while Blast once had billions of dollars in deposits. Yet both ultimately decided the chain itself wasn't worth continuing.