Blur will shut down its marketplace website on NFT 12 November 2026, while its smart contracts will continue to run on the Ethereum blockchain. Blend, a lending protocol for NFT developed by Blur and Paradigm, will stop matching new loans on the same day.
The website will be shut down, but the protocol will remain. Blur's marketplace smart contracts will continue to run on Ethereum, so trading will still be possible directly on the blockchain. However, without an official interface, most ordinary users will need other tools to access them.
Holders of BLUR tokens retain their governance role. They still control the fee switch, which determines whether the protocol can begin charging trading fees.
Blur did not cite any financial or operational reasons for the closure. It also warned users about fake accounts and fraudulent announcements during the transition period.
The Blend project is winding down as well. The peer-to-peer NFT lending protocol will stop issuing new loans on 12 November.
Borrowers with open loans must repay them before the specified date, or they will go into default. Blur plans to release a separate tool for users after the deadline to help them withdraw their funds, but the release date has not yet been set. The team also did not provide information on outstanding loan balances, the number of affected borrowers, or the potential volume of defaults.
Blend launched in May 2023 as a joint project between Blur and Paradigm. Its design lacks fixed loan maturities and price oracles. Instead, lenders can initiate refinancing auctions, and a failed auction can result in the borrower losing their NFT collateral. Amid already low liquidity, closing positions may prove no easy task.
Some of the largest open positions on Blend are backed by NFT from Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club. The lending protocol Gondi has struck a partnership with GrailsOTC to offer refinancing and migration paths to borrowers facing difficulties. Users are also advised to revoke old NFT approvals they no longer need.
Second shutdown in two weeks
Blur is the second project tied to the founding team to shut down this month. Blast, an Ethereum layer-two network created by Pacman and developed by the team behind Blur, announced its closure on 2 October.
At its peak, Blast had a TVL of more than TVL $2 billion. By the time the network launch was announced, that figure had shrunk to roughly $32 million. The developers said the costs of maintaining the network exceed its revenue. Blast users can withdraw funds through the network's standard interface until 26 October.
The broader NFT market has seen similar shutdowns. Binance ceased NFT trading on 3 July 2026, Nifty Gateway closed, and Magic Eden narrowed its marketplace to Solana. OpenSea, Tensor, Rarible and SuperRare continue to operate.
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