The NFT marketplace Blur announced on Monday (12) that it will shut down its web interface on November 12, 2026. On the same date, Blend, a service for loans backed by NFTs, will stop intermediating new operations. Users with pending financings will have until the announced deadline to pay off their debts or allow them to enter default.
The decision does not represent the complete shutdown of the protocol. Although the blur.io site will stop offering its trading interface, the marketplace's smart contracts will continue operating on the Ethereum blockchain. The BLUR token will also maintain its role in the mechanism that allows activating the protocol's fee collection.
The announcement comes after a sharp reduction in the platform's activity. Data published by The Block shows that monthly traded volume fell from approximately US$ 1.43 billion in March 2023 to less than US$ 7 million in March 2026, a decline of more than 99.5%. The numbers compare historical periods and do not represent the volume recorded in October.
Launched in 2022, Blur at one point concentrated more than 70% of NFT trading on Ethereum in March 2023, driven by token incentives and commercial conditions aimed at frequent traders. The platform competed directly with OpenSea.
What changes for Blend users starting November 12
The main operational consequence involves Blend participants, a protocol that allows obtaining loans using NFTs as collateral.
Borrowers will have until November 12 to settle their pending loans. Those who do not make the payment may allow the operation to enter default, subjecting the NFT used as collateral to the conditions set forth in the protocol.
The interruption of new loans is distinct from the continuity of the marketplace's smart contracts. The permanence of this infrastructure on Ethereum does not mean that trading and credit services will continue to be available through the same interfaces or under current conditions.
Blur also announced that it will make available a specific tool for withdrawing assets linked to Blend after the interface shutdown. However, it did not inform an exact date for its availability nor detail how the procedure will work.
The decision comes ten days after Blast, an Ethereum layer-2 network created by the same founder of Blur, Tieshun Roquerre, announced its own shutdown. In Blur's case, the company did not publicly present operational losses as a justification for discontinuing the site.
