Blur NFT Marketplace
Blur is an Ethereum-based NFT marketplace launched on October 19, 2022, designed to cater to the needs of advanced NFT traders. The platform touts itself as the “fastest NFT marketplace” and offers features such as faster NFT snipe and sweep, real-time price feeds and price-based sorting, portfolio management, batch shelf and zero trading fees on NFT sales. Furthermore, the marketplace aggregates non-fungible tokens from OpenSea, LooksRare and X2Y2.
Unlike most NFT marketplaces that primarily cater to retail users, Blur distinguishes itself by targeting professional or high-volume traders, commonly referred to as “whales.” This unique platform offers NFT traders a comprehensive ecosystem where they can access a marketplace, an aggregator, and a range of advanced trading tools, all integrated into a single platform.
Who Owns Blur NFT Marketplace?
Blur was co-founded by an online persona known as “Pacman,” whose real identity was initially shrouded in secrecy. However, in February 2023, Pacman made the decision to reveal their true identity, Tieshun Roquerre. The Blur team comprises professionals with diverse backgrounds, bringing in expertise from reputable institutions and companies such as MIT, Citadel, Twitch, Five Rings Capital, Square, and Brex.
Blur received significant support from Paradigm during its development. In March 2022, the platform successfully raised $11 million in a seed funding round led by Paradigm. Noteworthy figures in the NFT industry, such as Punk6529, NFT expert Zeneca, and Cozomo De Medici (the pseudonym used by the renowned rapper Snoop Dogg in the NFT space), also joined as notable backers of the project.
How To Use Blur NFT Marketplace?
While touted as a platform geared towards advanced NFT traders, Blur follows a similar operational model to most NFT trading platforms. This implies that users need to link their crypto wallets before engaging in NFT trading activities on the platform. As of March 2023, Blur supports three crypto wallets: MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Coinbase Wallet. Once a wallet is connected, users gain access to browse through top and trending collections on the platform, as well as upload and connect their existing NFT assets.
Within Blur, NFT traders have the opportunity to acquire digital collectibles from both fellow users and creators. Utilizing Blur’s native marketplace necessitates the payment of royalty fees, also referred to as supply-side fees, to the creators. The platform also offers additional features, such as an aggregator, which allows users to make multiple NFT purchases simultaneously across various marketplaces.
Moreover, Blur presents two distinct user modes: trader and collector. The trader mode offers more charts, data, and a condensed view, catering to the needs of active traders. On the other hand, the collector mode provides a cleaner interface with larger images and a familiar layout, creating a more immersive experience for collectors.
Blur NFT Marketplace Fees & Royalties
Blur NFT marketplace stands out with its highly competitive fee structure. As previously stated, the platform does not impose any transaction fees on NFT sales. However, it does suggest a default royalty rate of 0.5% for buyers, which remains customizable and can even be set to 0 if desired by the user.
When listing their tokens on the marketplace, NFT owners have the ability to define specific creator royalties. While there is a general encouragement for users to honor these royalties, those who actively support and pay them also receive loyalty points in the form of BLUR tokens. This incentivizes users to support creator royalties and rewards them for doing so.
Blur Token
Fueling the Blur ecosystem is its native $BLUR token, with a total supply of 3 billion tokens. According to the company’s tokenomics document, these minted tokens will gradually become available over a span of 4 to 5 years. In terms of allocation, 51% of the $BLUR tokens, which equates to 1,530,000,000 BLUR tokens, will be directed towards the community. This emphasizes the community’s involvement and participation within the ecosystem.
A portion of 29% has been designated for past and future core contributors, subject to a four-year vesting period. This allocation recognizes the contributions of essential team members to the project’s development. Additionally, 19% of the $BLUR tokens will be allocated to investors, acknowledging their support and involvement in the project. Finally, the remaining 1% will be allocated to advisors, recognizing their guidance and expertise.
You can buy $BLUR token on Coinbase, KuCoin, Kraken, Uniswap, OKX, Huobi, Bybit, BTCEX, BingX, and Bitget, at the time of writing this article.
Blur Lending Protocol – Blend
In a recent announcement on May 1st, Blur unveiled the introduction of Blend, a peer-to-peer lending protocol developed in collaboration with Web3 investment firm Paradigm. According to Blur, this innovative protocol aims to facilitate the unlocking of liquidity for NFTs and foster the overall growth of the market.
Impressively, within the initial 24 hours of its launch, Blend quickly emerged as the leading lending protocol in terms of both volume and user participation on the Ethereum blockchain. In the month of May, the NFT loan volume soared to $375 million, and an overwhelming majority of 82% was attributed to Blend in terms of borrow volume. As a result, Blend surpassed other established NFT lending protocols like X2Y2, NFTfi, Paraspace, Bend, and Arcade, solidifying its dominant position in the NFT lending market.
