Blur Shuts Down Its NFT Marketplace Website as Collectors React

Blur announces website shutdown while keeping onchain marketplace alive

Nonfungible token marketplace Blur said on Monday it will shut down its website on November 12, though its blockchain-based marketplace will continue to operate. The announcement, posted on X — Blur's first post on the platform in over a year — has drawn attention to policies that critics say harmed the NFT ecosystem.

Key details from the announcement

• The frontend website closes November 12; the onchain marketplace stays operational.
• Blend, Blur's peer-to-peer NFT lending protocol, will stop matching new loans. Borrowers must repay by November 12 or let loans default.
• A withdrawal interface will be made available after the shutdown.
• Blur did not provide a reason for the decision.

What Blur said on X

Blur's announcement on X did not include any explanation for the shutdown. The post did not elaborate on what happens to user assets beyond the withdrawal interface promise, nor did it address the onchain marketplace's future beyond stating it would remain active.

Collector reaction and the royalty fight

Some NFT collectors responded with approval. In replies to the post, several collectors accused Blur of damaging the NFT ecosystem through its optional creator royalty policies and token reward schemes that encouraged rapid flipping.

Those policies helped Blur overtake OpenSea as the largest NFT marketplace by trading volume in 2023. The approach pushed the broader market toward lower royalty requirements. OpenSea later moved to optional creator fees for new collections, citing competitive pressure.

Blockchain analytics firm Nansen reported that effective creator royalty fees dropped to 0.6% in July 2023, compared to an average of 2.5% in 2022. Nansen attributed much of that decline to Blur's growth, its minimum royalty policy, and OpenSea's decision to lower its own royalty requirements in response.

NFT market context

NFT trading remains far below peak levels. According to CryptoSlam data, total NFT sales in September were $167 million across 2.9 million transactions. The market peak came in January 2022, when sales reached $6 billion over 13.7 million transactions.

Other platforms have also announced exits. Nifty Gateway, owned by Gemini, and social collecting platform Rodeo planned to wind down in January. Foundation announced its closure in April after a sale meant to keep it operating did not go through. Binance ended NFT support on its exchange and moved asset management to Binance Wallet.

What is confirmed and what remains open

Confirmed: Blur is shutting down its frontend on November 12. The onchain marketplace will continue. Blend stops matching new loans, and a withdrawal interface will be provided.

Still unclear: Blur has not given any reason for the shutdown. Cointelegraph reached out to founder Tieshun “Pacman” Roquerre for comment, but the source material does not include a response.

Why this matters for the NFT market

Blur's exit adds to a wave of NFT platform wind-downs. For creators, the news lands amid a period when royalty protections weakened significantly across the industry. Blur's policies were a major factor in that decline. However, the policies that lowered royalties have already been adopted by competing platforms, so Blur's departure does not automatically reverse the trend.

Sources

• Cointelegraph

Read also: NFT Marketplace Blur to Shut Down Website and Stop New Blend Loans Next Month