Blur Sets November 12 Website Shutdown
Blur, once a leading marketplace for trading Ethereum-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs), plans to close its website on November 12, 2026, following a steep decline in trading activity. The announcement marks another major retreat for projects associated with crypto entrepreneur Tieshun Roquerre, widely known as Pacman.
In a post on its official X account, Blur said its website would close on the announced date. Its NFT lending service, Blend, will also stop arranging new loans. Borrowers have until November 12 to repay outstanding loans or allow them to default, after which Blur plans to provide a separate tool for withdrawing assets from Blend.
The website closure does not mean every part of Blur will stop functioning. The project said its underlying smart contracts will remain operational on Ethereum, meaning the blockchain-based system will continue to exist even after the main website becomes unavailable.
NFT Trading Volume Falls More Than 99%
Blur’s decline follows a dramatic reversal from its early success. Launched in 2022, the marketplace challenged OpenSea by focusing on professional NFT traders with features designed for faster trading, low marketplace fees and token-based incentives.
The strategy helped Blur capture more than 70% of Ethereum NFT trading volume in March 2023, when monthly activity reached approximately $1.43 billion, according to the figures in the report. By March 2026, monthly trading volume had fallen below $7 million, representing a decline of more than 99.5% from its peak.
This contraction reflects a substantial reduction in trading activity on the platform. However, trading volume alone does not reveal how many unique users remain active, how much capital individual traders deploy or what proportion of activity is driven by long-term collectors rather than short-term speculation.
Readers can monitor broader protocol metrics through DefiLlama’s Blur dashboard, which tracks indicators such as total value locked, fees and revenue. These measures help distinguish the amount of trading activity from the funds held in a protocol’s contracts and the income it generates.
Blend Lending Users Face a Separate Deadline
Alongside the marketplace closure, Blur is ending new loan origination through Blend, its NFT lending service. Users with outstanding loans must decide how to handle their positions before the November 12 deadline.
Borrowers can repay their loans by the deadline or allow them to default, according to the announcement. Blur also said it intends to make a separate withdrawal tool available afterward so users can retrieve assets from Blend.
The distinction between the website and smart contracts is important for users. Although the website provides a convenient interface for interacting with the protocol, smart contracts execute programmed operations on the blockchain. Keeping those contracts operational does not necessarily mean the website’s features, customer support or lending services will continue to function as before.
Users with outstanding positions should review Blur’s official announcements and relevant onchain records to understand how the shutdown affects their individual circumstances. The specific mechanics of withdrawals and defaults depend on the applicable lending positions and protocol rules.
BLUR Token Governance May Continue
Blur’s announcement also stated that BLUR tokenholders will retain control over the protocol’s fee switch. This mechanism allows tokenholders to vote on whether the marketplace should begin charging trading fees.
Blur became known for offering zero-fee NFT trading, helping it compete for volume during the market’s earlier expansion. The continued existence of its smart contracts and governance mechanism means the website closure does not automatically eliminate every protocol-level function.
However, the ability to vote on fees is different from operating a full marketplace through a familiar website. The future practical role of the fee switch will depend on how the protocol and its community proceed after the shutdown.
Blast Shutdown Preceded Blur’s Announcement
The Blur decision follows a separate shutdown announcement from Blast, an Ethereum scaling network developed by the team behind Blur. Blast announced its planned closure on October 2, 2026, around ten days before Blur’s announcement.
Blast previously attracted more than $2 billion in assets, partly through rewards offered to users who deposited funds into the network. The reported amount had fallen to approximately $32 million when developers announced the shutdown. Blast’s team said the network cost more to operate than it generated in revenue.
Blur has not publicly attributed its website closure to operating losses, so the reason for its decision should not be assumed to be the same as Blast’s. The two announcements nevertheless mark separate withdrawals by projects associated with the same founder and development team.
Zero Marketplace Fees and Revenue Questions
Despite its historical trading volumes, Blur’s marketplace operated without transaction fees for traders. The supplied report cited Token Terminal records showing $0 in protocol revenue over the preceding three years, even as billions of dollars in NFT trades passed through the platform.
That figure should be interpreted narrowly. Zero recorded protocol revenue from marketplace fees does not establish whether Blur generated income through Blend lending or other activities. Different products can have separate revenue models, and marketplace volume is not equivalent to revenue earned by a platform.
Blur’s incentive programs also attracted criticism for encouraging speculative trading and putting pressure on NFT creator royalties. However, the trading figures alone do not establish how much activity came from genuine collectors, traders responding to rewards or other participants.
The project’s website continued to advertise zero marketplace fees and more than $7.4 billion in lifetime trading volume at the time described in the report, reflecting the scale it once reached.
BLUR Token Falls After Shutdown News
The report said the BLUR token fell more than 20% after Monday’s announcement, trading at around $0.015. That movement reflects the reported market reaction during the period, rather than a guaranteed long-term outcome for the token.
The website closure also raises practical questions for users who rely on Blur’s interface to access marketplace functions, while Blend borrowers face a specific deadline for outstanding loans. The continued operation of smart contracts does not remove the need for users to understand how they will interact with those contracts after the website closes.
For now, November 12 is the key date for Blur’s website and new Blend lending activity. The shutdown signals a major change for a marketplace that once dominated Ethereum NFT trading, even as its underlying contracts and BLUR governance mechanism are expected to remain in place.
