Blast, an Ethereum Layer 2 scaling network, has issued 17 billion BLAST tokens in its much-awaited first airdrop. The tokens were distributed at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, and roughly 35% of the airdropped tokens had already been claimed as of the time of writing. The 17 billion BLAST tokens distributed in the airdrop make up 7% of the total supply of 100 billion BLAST tokens.

BLAST was trading at $0.028 at the time of writing on the pre-market trading platform Whales Pro. At this price, the total value of the 17 billion BLAST is roughly $476 million. However, pre-market trading prices can and often do differ widely from official market prices for listed cryptocurrencies.

Users of Blast's network received the lion's share of the BLAST airdrop. The sizes of users' BLAST allocations in the phase-one airdrop were based on the number of Blast Points they had accumulated prior to the event, as per the network's tokenomics.

Blast plans to allocate 25.5% of BLAST tokens to its core contributors to the network, while 16.5% will go to the network's investors and 8% will go to the Blast Foundation, according to Blast's tokenomics report. The other half of BLAST's total supply will be earmarked for community initiatives.

The airdrop is a significant event for the Blast network, and the rapid claiming of tokens indicates a strong interest in the project. As the network continues to develop and grow, it will be interesting to see how the BLAST token performs and how the community initiatives unfold.

Blast is one of the many projects building on the Ethereum Layer 2 scaling network, which aims to increase the scalability and usability of the Ethereum blockchain. The network has gained significant attention in recent months, with many developers and users showing interest in its potential to improve the Ethereum ecosystem.

The airdrop is also a strategic move by Blast to incentivize users and contributors to participate in the network's development and growth. By distributing tokens to users and contributors, Blast aims to create a sense of ownership and community, which is essential for the long-term success of any blockchain project.

In addition to the airdrop, Blast has also announced several other initiatives to encourage user participation and engagement. These include a referral program, a community fund, and a developer grant program. These initiatives aim to support the growth of the Blast ecosystem and create a thriving community of users and developers.

Overall, the airdrop is a significant milestone for the Blast network, and it will be interesting to see how the project develops in the coming months. With its focus on scalability, usability, and community engagement, Blast has the potential to make a significant impact in the Ethereum ecosystem.