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Ethereum NFT marketplace Blur will close its website on November 12, 2026, after trading activity fell more than 99% from its 2023 peak. The company announced the decision on October 12, while its BLUR token declined sharply following the news.
Blur announced that its website will stop operating next month. However, the marketplace's smart contracts will remain active on Ethereum, allowing the underlying trading system to continue without the company's main website. The announcement did not give a reason for closing the interface.
The company stated, “The Blur marketplace protocol will remain operational on-chain.” BLUR tokenholders will also retain control of the protocol's fee switch, which lets them decide whether the platform should charge trading fees. Blur did not announce a vote to introduce those fees. The continued operation of the contracts does not restore the website's order listings or trading tools.
Meanwhile, Blend, Blur's NFT lending service, will stop matching new loans on November 12. Borrowers must repay existing loans by that date or allow them to default. Blur said it would offer a separate withdrawal tool after the deadline, although it did not provide a launch date.
Blur launched in 2022 and competed with OpenSea by offering fast trading tools, no marketplace fees and rewards for active users. The platform gained more than 70% of Ethereum NFT trading volume in March 2023. Monthly trades reached approximately USD 1.43 billion during that period.
By March 2026, Blur's monthly trading volume had fallen below USD 7 million. That represents a drop of more than 99.5% from the March 2023 figure. Trading rewards had helped the platform attract activity, although critics questioned whether those incentives encouraged frequent speculative trades and reduced royalties for NFT creators.
The fall in trading also came alongside limited protocol income. DefiLlama shows no fees or revenue over its latest 30-day reporting period. However, the fee data alone does not establish what Blur earned from lending or other services, and the company has not attributed its closure to financial losses.
The BLUR token fell after the announcement. CoinGecko showed the asset trading near USD 0.0123 on October 13, down about 34% over 24 hours. Its reported market value stood near USD 35.7 million, while daily trading volume exceeded USD 60 million.
Blur's total value locked, which tracks assets held in its contracts, has also fallen far below its earlier levels. The platform held about USD 22.6 million in an October 13 data snapshot, compared with roughly USD 215.9 million at its March 2024 peak. These figures cover locked assets rather than monthly NFT trading.
The shutdown follows an October 2 closure announcement from Blast, another project created by Blur founder Tieshun Roquerre, known as Pacman. Blast previously attracted more than USD 2 billion in deposited assets, but that total had fallen to around USD 32 million when its shutdown was announced.
Its developers cited operating costs exceeding revenue. Blast users have until October 26 to withdraw assets through its regular interface as the network winds down. Blur's November 12 deadline comes later, and its Ethereum marketplace contracts are set to remain available after the website closes.
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