Blur, the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace that once dominated Ethereum NFT trading, will shut down its blur.io website on November 12, 2026. On the same day, Blend, Blur’s NFT lending protocol, will stop matching new loans.
The BLUR token dropped sharply after the news, extending a long decline for one of the most heavily incentivized platforms of the last NFT cycle.
What Blur Announced
Blur confirmed the changes in a thread on its official X account on October 12, 2026. “The https://blur.io frontend will be deprecated on November 12, 2026. This deprecation only applies to the frontend,” the first post stated.
A frontend is the website or app that users interact with, while the smart contracts, the self-executing programs deployed on a blockchain, handle the actual trades. Blur said its marketplace protocol “will remain operational on-chain,” meaning the contracts will keep running after the website goes offline.
The team added that BLUR holders “will continue to control its fee switch.” A fee switch is a governance-controlled setting that determines whether a protocol charges fees and where that revenue goes. With the official website closing, this switch becomes the main economic lever tied to the BLUR token.
For traders, the practical impact is significant. Professional NFT traders and collectors who used blur.io for bidding, listing, and liquidity will lose their main access point. Trading on the protocol will still be possible, but only by interacting with the contracts directly or through third-party interfaces.
Blend Lending Moves Into Wind-Down
Blend is a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending protocol that lets users borrow against their NFTs, with lenders funding loans directly rather than through a shared pool. According to Blur, Blend “will stop matching new loans on November 12, 2026. Borrowers have until then to repay their loans or allow them to default.”
This shifts Blend from issuing new loans to winding down existing positions. Borrowers who do not repay by the deadline risk default, after which lenders can claim the NFT collateral under the protocol’s rules. Blur said it will provide a frontend tool after the deadline to help users withdraw their assets from Blend.
The thread closed with a warning to users to “beware of impersonators and fraudulent announcements,” noting that @blur_io is its only official account.
BLUR Token Price Reaction
The market responded quickly. Reports after the announcement showed BLUR falling between the high single digits and more than 30% within 24 hours across major trading venues. The token moved from near $0.019 toward the $0.013 to $0.015 range, and as of publication it was trading at $0.01344 as per CoinGecko data.
The drop adds to a multi-year slide from BLUR’s February 14, 2023 all-time high of $5.02.
From NFT Market Leader to Fading Volumes
Blur was founded by Tieshun Roquerre, known online as “Pacman,” and backed by crypto investment firm Paradigm. It grew rapidly by offering zero trading fees, tools built for professional traders, and aggressive points and airdrop programs that rewarded heavy users with tokens.
At its peak in early 2023, during its incentive campaigns and its marketplace battle with OpenSea, Blur recorded monthly trading volume of roughly $1.3 billion to $1.43 billion. More recent figures put monthly volume below $7 million. The reward-driven model also drew scrutiny over alleged ‘wash trading,’ where the same parties trade assets back and forth to inflate volume, and over activity driven mainly by incentives.
Blast Shutdown Adds Context
The announcement follows the wind-down of Blast, the Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network launched by the same founding team. An L2 is a separate network that processes transactions away from Ethereum’s main chain to lower costs before settling back on Ethereum.
Blast announced on October 2 that it would shut down after operating costs exceeded revenue, and directed users to withdraw their assets. The BLAST token crashed more than 44% following that news. Together, the two moves have raised questions about whether incentive-heavy NFT and L2 projects can sustain themselves once airdrop and points seasons end.
Security Warning on Blur Contract Approvals
Separately, Quit, Vice President of Blockchain at Yuga Labs, the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection, publicly advised NFT holders to revoke approvals granted to Blur contracts.
An approval is a permission that lets a contract move a user’s NFTs, typically granted when listing or trading. Quit pointed out that Blur’s contracts are upgradeable, meaning their code can be changed later. No exploitable flaw has been identified in the current contracts, but the ability to upgrade means future changes could alter how they behave.
Outstanding approvals reportedly cover NFTs worth tens of millions of dollars. As the team appears to be winding down, the security of those assets depends on how the contracts are managed going forward. Users can review and remove such permissions through approval management tools such as revoke.cash.
What Happens Next
Blend borrowers now face a clear choice before November 12: repay their loans or let them default. After the deadline, Blur’s promised tool will only support asset withdrawals. NFT holders who used Blur for trading or lending are also dealing with the loss of the official interface and outside calls to clear their contract approvals.
Blur has not issued any further statement beyond its original thread. The Crypto Times will continue to cover any updates or statements from Blur.
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