Paradigm, a crypto venture capital firm and seed investor in Blast, has criticized the startup's marketing strategy for its protocol, claiming that it "crossed lines in both messaging and execution." The head of research at Paradigm, Dan Robinson, expressed disagreement with Blast's decision to launch a bridge before its layer-2 network and to not allow withdrawals for three months. Despite the criticism, Robinson acknowledged that Blast's team is made up of "world-class builders" with the ability to build great products. Blast has faced controversy over its launch, including concerns about centralization and lack of withdrawal functionality, but has still amassed over $555 million in total value locked since its launch.