Recent data revealed that Blur, the popular peer-to-peer NFT marketplace and aggregator, is now used more frequently for loans rather than trading. DappRadar compiled a report that showed the platform’s NFT loan volumes rose from 4,200 ETH (or roughly $7.6 million) to 169,900 ETH (or $308 million) in less than a month. It was also noted that NFT trading volumes have declined since early May. More NFT holders are creating accounts and taking out loans backed by their assets. From May 1, Blur’s NFT loan trading volumes rose by over 39X in 22 days, increasing its dominance in the NFT loaning sector. Over 80% of all NFT-backed loans are now facilitated through Blend, Blur’s lending protocol that launched on May 1, 2023.
Blend Powers Blur’s Rising TVL
Blend, Blur’s peer-to-peer lending protocol, allows users to borrow ETH in exchange for their NFTs. With Blend, borrowers can specify the amount of ETH they would like to borrow, backed by their NFT as collateral, while lenders determine the interest rate they wish to loan the ETH at. If a match is made, the deal is sealed and the transfer is completed trustlessly. Any listed NFT can be used as collateral, and the lender gains ownership of the NFT if the borrower fails to repay the loan.
According to DeFiLlama’s data, Blur’s total value locked (TVL) stands at over $143 million, compared to $23 million in early January. The introduction of the BLUR token encouraged participation and brought the total assets under management to over $100 million, rising to over $147 million on May 24. CryptoPunks, Milady Maker, and Azuki are popular NFTs for lenders loaning money, with those locking their Azuki and CryptoPunks NFTs receiving a total of 70,031 ETH and 34,960 ETH, respectively. Milady Maker has also seen 22,510 ETH of loans dispersed despite its low floor price of 3.4 ETH.
Season 2 Incentivizes NFT Listing
Blur is ramping up its “Season 2” incentivization program to encourage more NFT listing on its platform. It has set aside 300 million BLUR to reward traders who list their NFTs on the platform. However, more than 1,900 wallet addresses have been identified as participating in “wash trading,” in which a trader simultaneously buys and sells the same asset to manipulate its price.
With more data indicating an increase in loan requests, it appears that Blur may be set to become more known for facilitating loan transactions within the NFT market than for trading alone.
Feature Image From Canva, Chart From TradingView
