Blur will shut down the public website for its Ethereum-based NFT marketplace on November 12, 2026, while leaving the underlying marketplace protocol active on-chain. The company will also stop matching new loans through Blend, its peer-to-peer NFT lending platform, on the same day.
The changes mark a significant retreat for one of the best-known platforms in the NFT market, which has contracted sharply from its peak. According to Decrypt, Blur said the shutdown applies to the blur.io frontend rather than the blockchain-based protocol itself.
Website closure will not end the on-chain protocol
The blur.io website is the interface users have used to interact with Blur’s marketplace. Its deprecation means that this frontend will no longer operate from November 12, but the marketplace’s on-chain protocol will remain operational.
Blur also said holders of its BLUR token will continue to control the protocol’s fee switch. A fee switch generally refers to a mechanism that determines whether fees generated by a protocol can be directed to token holders or another designated recipient.
The distinction is important because closing a website does not necessarily remove the smart-contract infrastructure deployed on a blockchain. However, the announcement means users will no longer have access to Blur’s existing web interface after the stated date.
Blend borrowers face a deadline
Blend will stop matching new NFT-backed loans on November 12 as well. Borrowers with outstanding loans must repay them before that date or allow them to default, according to Blur.
The company said it will provide a tool after the deadline to help users withdraw their assets from Blend. The announcement did not provide further details about how that tool will work.
Blend is a peer-to-peer lending service connected to Blur’s NFT marketplace. In general, NFT lending allows a borrower to use a non-fungible token as collateral for a loan, with the terms determining whether the borrower repays the loan or faces a default involving the pledged asset.
A smaller NFT market
Blur launched in 2022 with a token airdrop aimed at traders and quickly surpassed OpenSea in trading volume. Its trading incentives later drew criticism from some observers who argued they contributed to falling NFT prices.
The broader market is now far below its 2021 and 2022 highs. Statista projects global NFT market revenue of $318.3 million in 2026, broadly unchanged from the previous year. CryptoSlam data cited in the report shows monthly NFT sales volume at $167.2 million in September, down from $554.8 million a year earlier and $1.78 billion in December 2023.
DappRadar has reported that lower NFT prices have increased the number of sales even as total trading volume has fallen. That means more transactions do not necessarily indicate a recovery in the value of the market.
The development follows a decision by Blast, the Ethereum layer-2 network created by the team behind Blur, to shut down after saying its operating costs exceeded its earnings. Blast attracted more than $2.3 billion in deposits by its February 2024 mainnet launch and has given users until October 26 to withdraw through its interface.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at 09:54 on October 13, 2026, shows AINFT (NFT) at $0.0000002365, down 0.54% over 24 hours and 1.38% over seven days. Loaded Lions (LION) was $0.0012926639, down 6.89% over 24 hours and 15.25% over seven days.
At 09:53, Monad (MON) stood at $0.0246821278, down 4.01% in 24 hours and 12.75% over seven days. Nexus (NEX) was $0.0000007911 at 09:54, down 2.95% over 24 hours and 2.81% over seven days.
