Blur, Paradigm devs unveil p2p lending protocol for NFTs

Blur has announced a new lending protocol for non-fungible tokens.

The protocol, dubbed Blend, was developed in conjunction with Paradigm's Dan Robinson and Transmissions11. 

According to the project's white paper, the protocol enables perpetual lending, meaning that loans have no set expiration date, "allowing borrowing positions to remain open indefinitely until liquidated, with market-determined interest rates."

The paper goes on to explain:

"By default, Blend loans have fixed rates and never expire. Borrowers can repay at any time, while lenders can exit their positions by triggering a Dutch auction to find a new lender at a new rate. If that auction fails, the borrower is liquidated and the lender takes possession of the collateral."

Blend is the latest entrant in the NFT lending space, which has seen the emergence of platforms like BendDAO. Elsewhere, a group of former Coinbase engineers launched an NFT lending platform called PaprMeme supported by $3 million in funding from the U.S. exchange's venture arm.

Blur busy period

The latest release builds on a busy period for Blur, which in April captured 48% of monthly volume among NFT marketplaces, according to data from The Block Research's Data Dashboard. Blur edged out rival exchange OpenSea, drawing $622.3 million in volume vs. OpenSea's $596.3 million.

After its launch earlier this year, Blur quickly ate into OpenSea's market share through airdrops, low fees and token incentives. OpenSea launched a trading platform, dubbed OpenSea Pro, last month in a bid to woo back NFT whales. 

OpenSea's bet appears to be bearing fruit. Its $596.3 million volume figure for April represented a 49.1% jump from March's $399.9 million.

Disclaimer: Larry Cermak, CEO of The Block, is an angel investor in Blur.