Once-largest Ethereum NFT marketplace Blur is shutting down after volumes collapse 99%
The Ethereum NFT marketplace Blur is shutting down its website on November 12 following a 99% collapse in trading volume. While the marketplace will close, its underlying smart contracts will remain active, and the BLUR token will continue to function.
Why it matters
The closure of a once-dominant NFT platform signals a significant cooling of the speculative NFT market and the challenges of sustaining decentralized platforms without revenue models.
The marketplace said Monday that its website will close on Nov. 12, while its NFT lending service, Blend, will stop arranging new loans.
Borrowers have until that date to repay their loans or allow them to default. Blur plans to provide a separate tool afterward for withdrawing assets from Blend.
Blur’s underlying smart contracts will remain operational on Ethereum, meaning the shutdown does not eliminate the blockchain-based trading system. BLUR tokenholders will retain control of its fee switch — a mechanism that allows them to vote on whether the marketplace should start charging trading fees.
The decision follows the Oct. 2 shutdown announcement from Blast, an Ethereum scaling network also created by Roquerre, better known as Pacman, and developed by the team behind Blur.
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