Blur, the largest NFT trading platform on Ethereum, will shut down its website on November 12th due

Blur announced that its frontend website will be shut down on November 12, 2026. Blur, which was responsible for handling most of the Ethereum NFT transactions, decided to discontinue its website after its monthly transaction volume plummeted by over 99%. This closure only involves the termination of frontend services, not a complete dissolution of the platform: the smart contracts underlying the market will continue to operate on the blockchain. However, the end of this major trading interface and the gradual cessation of Blend, its NFT lending service, mark another company that has become a victim in this challenging year for crypto projects, which are constantly faced with various incentives and challenges.

Blur’s announcement states that “the frontend of blur.io will be discontinued on November 12, 2026. This disconnection applies only to the frontend portion. The Blur market protocol will continue to operate on the blockchain, and the $BLUR token will still be used to control fees.”

The concept of “fee control” is important because Blur has long avoided charging traders any market fees, and it has never generated any revenue from these fees. Although the team has not explicitly stated plans to reintroduce this feature, holders of BLR tokens still have the right to decide when this feature will be re-enabled in the future.

The Blend lending service is currently being phased out.

The same dates also apply to Blend, a peer-to-peer lending protocol based on NFT mortgages, under the umbrella of Blur. Blur stated, “Blend will cease matching new loans on November 12, 2026. Borrowers must repay their loans by that date, or face default. After that date, we will provide a tool that will allow users to extract assets from Blend.”

The announcement did not specify when this tool would be available. Borrowers who still have outstanding loans must decide whether to repay their loans or accept default before the deadline.

The decline in market share from 70% to almost zero is staggering. Token Terminal data shows that Blur’s monthly transaction volume reached a peak of approximately $143 million in March 2023, when it accounted for more than 70% of Ethereum NFT transactions. By March 2026, three years later, the monthly transaction volume had dropped below $7 million, a decrease of over 99.5%.

Blur was launched in 2022 and grew rapidly by attracting professional traders, providing tools designed for speed, and conducting token distributions to reward active users. However, this strategy also attracted criticism. Opponents argued that these rewards inflated transaction volumes and encouraged trades primarily for the purpose of earning rewards. Additionally, Blur’s low royalty policy increased competition in the market, frustrating collectors and creators who rely on royalties for their income.

Market reactions

公告发布后，BLUR代币下跌超过20%。值得注意的是，十天前Blur的姊妹项目Blast也宣布了关闭计划。这两个项目均由加密企业家Tieshun Roquerre打造，这也让媒体将Blur的关闭描述为同一创始人旗下项目在十天内的第二次重大撤退。

对用户和收藏家的影响

对于大多数NFT持有者而言，实际影响有限。正如Cryptopolitan所指出的，关闭市场并不会将任何NFT从用户的钱包中移除，因为这些资产存在于链上。使用Blur进行交易的用户需要在11月12日后迁移至其他市场或直接与链上合约交互。无论是借款人还是出借人，凡是有未结Blend贷款的用户，都应检查自己的头寸，关注11月12日的截止日期，并留意承诺中的提取工具。

2026年的关停潮

Blur加入了2026年众多逐步停运的加密项目行列。今年早些时候：

• AscendEX于7月停止运营。
• BitMEX在7月宣布将于9月23日关闭。
• BitMart宣布分阶段停运，交易将于8月26日结束，全面关闭定于2027年1月31日。
• 同样与Roquerre有关的以太坊Layer 2网络Blast于10月2日宣布关闭。
• 由Pudgy Penguins支持的Layer 2 Abstract将于12月15日关闭。

Industry experts point out that by 2026, more than 30 cryptocurrency projects have closed down, including exchanges, blockchain platforms, and DeFi protocols. The reasons for this are attributed to severe market conditions, rising costs, and fierce competition.

Why is the NFT sector the first to be affected?

Blur’s closure reflects the extent of the cooling in the NFT market since the peak period in 2021-2022. According to Decrypt, revenue from the NFT market this year is expected to be only about $318 million, which is a fraction of the peak levels. When transaction volume depends heavily on token incentives, once those incentives disappear, activity quickly declines. Blur’s revenue dropped from around $1.43 billion per month to less than $7 million per month, consistent with this pattern. Cryptopolitan describes this as a retreat from the entire industry, rather than a complete collapse, as collectors, creators, and some market participants remain active.

Things to watch in the future:

Several issues will determine the direction of the future:

• November 12th: The website will cease operating, and Blend will no longer accept new loans.
• Blend borrowers: How many people choose to repay before the deadline, compared to those who default?
• Extraction tools: When will Blur release this tool, and will assets be able to be restored smoothly?
• Fee mechanisms: Will BLUR holders vote to open up trading fees in the future? This could change the role of tokens without a website.
• Other markets: Will Blur’s former traders migrate to other platforms, or will they completely withdraw from the NFT industry?

Currently, Blur’s closure serves as a reminder that growth driven by incentives can be both rapid and fragile. Even if users leave, the infrastructure may still survive longer than the websites themselves.