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Pudgy Penguins-backed Ethereum L2 Abstract to shut down after losing ‘tens of millions’

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Abstract, the Ethereum layer 2 tied to Pudgy Penguins parent Igloo Inc., will shut down on Dec. 15. Users are being told to bridge assets off the network before then, or their funds will no longer be accessible after that date. Igloo said it funded the chain for months to years and did not find a workable consumer-crypto business model, and one report says the team chose not to launch a token.

Key claims & sources

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Abstract will shut down on Dec. 15, and users are being told to bridge assets off before then.
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Abstract held roughly $48 million in assets shortly before the shutdown announcement.
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Igloo funded Abstract for 18 months but did not find product-market fit, despite attracting major brands and a large community.
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If assets remain on the chain after Dec. 15, they will be inaccessible.
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Abstract had onboarded more than 400,000 users and deployed over 144 apps.
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The shutdown puts attention back on Pudgy Penguins, with one report saying the NFT floor price rose while PENGU moved in the opposite direction.
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Igloo said it lost tens of millions of dollars over two years supporting Abstract.
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One report says Abstract decided against launching a token.

What it means

People using Abstract are the group that will notice this first, because the chain is being set to shut down on Dec. 15 and funds left there after that date become inaccessible. That affects anyone still holding assets on the network, as well as the roughly $48 million sitting on the chain shortly before the announcement.

In practice, the network’s bridge-out deadline changes what users can do with assets on Abstract before Dec. 15. What remains the same is that the chain had already supported more than 400,000 users and over 144 apps, even as the shutdown notice tells users to move funds off the network.

What is still open is how much activity remains on the chain before the deadline and how much value will still be there at shutdown. One detail that would settle that is the final state of bridged-out versus stranded assets when the network closes. (per theblock.co)

Market reaction i

EthereumETH the event is about this asset
first headline
-0.2% 2 h before
+0.2% 4 h after
$2,692price at publication
13data points

The move was larger before the first headline than after. That is an observation, not an explanation: the market also moves on things nobody publishes.

Coverage timeline

Every piece in order, with the time its news medium declares — if it is not believable we use ours and say so — and what it added to what was already known at that point. Arriving first is not the same as adding something.

+17 min
Oct 6 20:28
Decrypt echo
No new facts: proved, urging, solely
+2 h 11 m
Oct 6 22:22
+3 h 50 m
Oct 7 00:01
Cointelegraph echo
No new facts: attracting, brands, failed; with quotes
+3 h 56 m
Oct 7 00:07
Crypto Briefing echo
No new facts: partnerships, sustaining, highlights
+4 h 15 m
Oct 7 00:26
CR Cryptopolitan context
Its angle: refocusing, ultimately, onboarded; with quotes
+5 h 56 m
Oct 7 02:07
BeInCrypto context
Its angle: decentralized, significant, assembling; with quotes
+8 h 20 m
Oct 7 04:31
+10 h 45 m
Oct 7 06:56
Crypto News Australia adds
Breaks the figures down; the largest, $8.6B, with quotes
+11 h 49 m
Oct 7 08:00
AMBCrypto echo
No new facts: calling, growing, quits
+17 h 55 m
Oct 7 14:06
Protos echo
No new facts: pseudonymous, sustainable, speculated; with quotes

Has this happened before?

WhenWhat happenedFigure
33 days ago Crypto job postings triple to over 1,200 in September, but applications fall event 1 actors in common · 4 news media
34 days ago Ethereum Layer 2 Network Blast to Shut Down After Revenue Collapse - news.bitcoin.com event 1 actors in common · 2 news media
34 days ago Ethereum Network Blast Is Shutting Down: Who Controls Users' Last $51 Million? event 1 actors in common · 6 news media
34 days ago Paradigm-backed Layer 2 Blast to wind down network as costs exceed revenue event 1 actors in common · 8 news media
34 days ago Blast Will Shut Down as Operating Costs Outpace Revenue event 1 actors in common · 3 news media