Blur to shut down frontend next month as NFT trading volume dwindles

NFT marketplace Blur said Monday it will shut down its frontend next month, while its onchain marketplace protocol will remain operational. BLUR will continue to control the protocol's fee switch.

"Blend will stop matching new loans on November 12, 2026," Blur said in a post on X. "Borrowers have until then to repay their loans or allow them to default. After this date, we will provide a frontend tool to help users withdraw their assets from Blend."

The announcement comes shortly after the Ethereum Layer 2 Blast said it would wind down, followed by the Pudgy Penguins-backed Ethereum L2 Abstract.

Blast was created by Tieshun "Pacman" Roquerre, Blur's founder, and developed by the same core team. Roquerre outlined his ambition to build the "Binance of NFTs" in early 2023, when he doxxed himself. Blur's low creator-royalty policy also helped intensify competition among NFT marketplaces and put pressure on creator revenues, including those of Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club.

Blur has faced criticism for its incentive-driven approach to NFT trading, which critics say encouraged airdrop farming and suspected wash trading while putting pressure on creator royalties. Its association with Blast has also drawn scrutiny over the sustainability of growth strategies built around token incentives and liquidity rewards.

Blur's monthly trading volume peaked at around $1.43 billion in March 2023; exactly three years later, monthly volume had plummeted to under $7 million, according to The Block's data.

The BLUR token fell more than 20% following the announcement to around $0.015, giving it a market capitalization of approximately $44 million. The token traded above $5 in early 2023.