According to Foresight News, Blur founder Pacman has posted on the X platform addressing community concerns that Blast is a Ponzi scheme due to the seemingly incredible returns it offers users. Pacman explains that the initial returns provided by Blast come from Lido and MakerDAO. Lido's returns are derived from ETH staking returns, which are part of Ethereum's proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, while MakerDAO's returns come from on-chain US Treasury bonds, which are crucial to the functioning of the US economy. These returns are not unsustainable but are core components of both on-chain and off-chain economies. The high returns in Blast are due to the platform making these returns the 'default value' for everyone, providing users with previously hidden returns and effectively democratizing high returns.
Pacman also states that Blast's invitation reward system is not a new mechanism. Blast's goal is to enable as many early contributors as possible to obtain L2 returns to develop the on-chain economy. Without a community, Blast is nothing. There are various ways to contribute to L2, such as being a developer of the underlying protocol, creating applications on top of L2, or being an L2 user. If users help Blast become a thriving L2 by bringing friends on board, they provide real value and should be rewarded, which is the reason for Blast's invitation rewards.