Blur, once the largest Ethereum NFT marketplace, announced the shutdown of its official website on November 12, 2026. The decision comes after trading activity on the platform dwindled drastically. Blur’s monthly trading volume plunged from $1.43 billion in March 2023 to under $7 million in March 2026 - a decline of more than 99.5%. At its peak three years ago, the platform commanded over 70% of all NFT trading volume on the Ethereum network. Throughout its operational lifespan, Blur facilitated a total transaction volume of $7.4 billion, but that massive capital turnover is now history.
Onchain Contracts Remain Active, Web Access Shut Down
The November 12 shutdown applies solely to the website’s frontend interface. Blur’s smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain will remain active onchain, meaning direct interactions through contract code are still possible. Alongside the web shutdown, Blur’s lending protocol, Blend, will stop accepting new loans as of the same date. Blend borrowers have until November 12 to repay their loans or let their collateralized positions default.
Blend first launched in May 2023 and immediately came to dominate the NFT lending market. In its first 22 days of operation, the protocol facilitated roughly 169,900 ETH in loans, or about $308 million, capturing an 82% share of NFT lending volume at the time. Despite facilitating massive liquidity, Blur opted for a zero-transaction-fee model. Data from Token Terminal shows Blur generated $0 in protocol revenue across its three years of operation. The lack of protocol revenue left operations reliant on initial funding, including an $11 million seed round led by Paradigm when the project was founded in 2022.
Second Tieshun Roquerre Project to Shut Down
Blur’s shutdown comes just ten days after its sister project, Blast, made a similar move. Blast, an Ethereum layer-2 network developed by the same team, announced the wind-down of its operations on October 2. Both projects were built by the same developer, Tieshun Roquerre, also known as Pacman. Blast previously attracted over $2 billion in deposited liquidity before assets on its network shriveled to $32 million by the time the shutdown announcement was published. The near-simultaneous retreat of Blast and Blur marks the end of two liquidity incentive ecosystems that once took Ethereum by storm.
Price Pressure Mounts for BLUR Token Holders
News of the closure sparked a sell-off in governance token BLUR. The price of BLUR tumbled more than 29% shortly after the announcement, at one point posting a 37.4% weekly drop. The token is currently trading between $0.013 and $0.015, reflecting a 77.2% decline over the past year. Circulating supply currently stands at around 2.91 billion BLUR out of a maximum total supply of 3 billion tokens.
For Blend borrowers with collateralized NFTs, the November 12 deadline demands swift action: secure repayment funds immediately to recover collateral, or accept that the assets will be liquidated through default. Meanwhile, for BLUR token holders, the loss of an official web interface and drying trading volume leaves behind a governance token without a supporting web platform.
Reported via CoinDesk.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
