This newcomer to the NFT marketplace is making waves.
Written by: Timothy Craig
Compile: Moni
A newcomer to the NFT market is making waves in the crypto market. Dune data shows that on December 10, the NFT platform Blur's transaction volume reached 26,129 ETH, and the OpenSea platform's transaction volume reached 5,655 ETH, which means that Blur's daily transaction volume is equivalent to more than 4.6 times that of OpenSea's daily transaction volume.
What is Blur?
Blur is an NFT marketplace and aggregator designed for professional traders with many innovative features.
The Blur platform aggregates NFT series from leading trading markets such as OpenSea, LooksRare, and X2Y2, and also allows users to list their own NFT assets on Blur. Unlike many other NFT markets that charge transaction commissions, Blur maintains a 0% NFT transaction fee Rate. Launched in March 2023, Blur has attracted a large number of fans in a short period of time through a recommendation waiting list, and some selected community members have conducted a closed test before Blur is released to the public on October 19.
Recently, as Blur will start the third AirDrop of airdrops, the transaction volume and floor price of blue-chip NFTs such as BAYC and Azuki have risen rapidly. So what kind of power does this platform have that can affect the entire NFT market? Next, let us comprehensively analyze and score from five aspects: ease of use, function, team, token economics and market competitiveness (note: the full score for each item is 5 points).
1. Ease of use (3 points)
Using Blur is simple. After navigating to the platform's landing page, users are prompted to connect their Web3 wallets (MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Coinbase wallets are currently supported) and start exploring the various NFT collections on the site.
By default, collections are listed in order of daily trade volume, and some key data is displayed (such as floor price, number of holders, and various price and volume indicators). Users can also view all Ethereum-based NFTs in their wallets through Blur's Portfolio tab, and then easily track listed NFTs and their rarity, estimated collectible value, and lifetime profit and loss statement.
The Blur interface is customizable, and users can switch between multiple views (such as lists and tiles) according to their preferences when browsing NFT collections. Unlike OpenSea, where users need to switch tabs to view sales history or other analytics, Blur displays everything on a single page, making it easier to access and compare all relevant NFT collectible data, and other accessibility features are also standard. Features such as light and dark modes, gas fee tracker and ETH price feed data, etc.
It should be noted that the Blur interface may not be friendly to "novice" users, and the platform seems to be more for advanced users (reminiscent of the Bloomberg terminal). A navigation interface with so much information on screen can take some getting used to by the average user, and in this regard OpenSea seems to be easier for newcomers to pick up.
But overall, Blur isn't difficult to use, but could definitely become more popular.
2. Function (5 points)
In terms of functionality, I give it full marks without hesitation.
The Blur platform operates ten times faster than other NFT aggregators, showing pending transactions on NFTs in less than a second and updating the list every four seconds. The lightning-fast display of pending transactions, combined with near-instant metadata updates on collectible art displays, offers Blur users who want to "snipe" NFTs a huge advantage. In addition, Blur's gas priority presets help users "beat" opponents who buy NFT through other exchanges or aggregators. Most importantly, Blur's contracts are more optimized than other markets, saving users up to 17% in gas fees.
Another well-received function of Blur is that it can clearly display the rarity of different NFTs and the floor price under specific attributes. Find the lowest-priced NFT list based on individual characteristics. This feature can not only help users accurately evaluate their own assets, but also benefit those NFT buyers who want to "buy the bottom".
For those users who want to "sweep the floor", Blur also provides corresponding tools. All NFT series have a floor price depth analysis chart, which can show how many NFTs are listed above different floor prices, allowing "sweep the floor" Users intuitively understand how the NFT they buy will affect the market.
If you have to fault the Blur function, it can only be said that they only support Ethereum now, but the Blur team has hinted that future plans will integrate other chains such as Polygon.
3. Team and supporters (4 points)
In March 2022, Blur announced the completion of an $11 million seed round of financing, led by Paradigm, and participated by anonymous collectors 6529, Cozomo de' Medici, Zeneca, and MoonOverlord. The support of KOLs in the NFT field is also a good sign, indicating Blur's incentives Measures can be more closely integrated with the wider NFT community.
However, the entire Blur team is anonymous at this stage, only disclosing members have extensive experience in MIT, Citadel, Five Rings Capital, Twitch, Brex, Square and Y Combinator.
4. Token economics (3 points)
Although Blur has announced the launch of BLUR governance tokens in January 2023, the maximum supply of tokens and token distribution details have not been disclosed so far, so there is not much information about the structure of Blur tokens at this stage.
Up to now, Blur has launched two AirDrop. The first AirDrop was launched in October. Users need to list an NFT on the Blur platform within 14 days to participate; the second AirDrop was launched on December 5, and the scale is the first ten times. The second AirDrop of Blur airdrops is calculated based on the NFT listed on Blur, based on the possibility of its being sold and the dynamic points of the NFT collection; full royalties get 2 times the points; traders get 5% extra points for sweeping 3 times, and sweeping 6 Earn 50% extra points each time. Earn credits for Blur's third AirDrop, Blur's final and largest, when users place a bid, and is expected to begin in January 2023.
5. Market competitiveness (5 points)
Blur has attracted a large number of users in just two weeks after its public release, and surpassed Gem in three days after its launch, becoming the NFT aggregator with the highest sales. According to the latest data from Dune Analytics, the current total transaction volume of Blur has reached 286,476 ETH, which is more than 360 million US dollars based on the current price. The total transaction volume has reached 869,750, of which the number of independent buyers is 57,706.
Since Blur went live on October 19, OpenSea has seen a marked drop in Ethereum transaction volume, while Blur has seen an increase, suggesting that traders have shifted. In the past 30 days, Blur's transaction volume has always been ahead of X2Y2 and LooksRare, second only to OpenSea, ranking second in terms of transaction volume. (Data as of November 1)
However, it should be noted that Blur’s recent rise in popularity may be related to its AirDrop campaign, and it remains to be seen whether platform users will remain after the AirDrop in January.
final thoughts
Despite the current crypto winter, there is an active and dedicated team of developers who believe in the long-term vision of crypto. From a technical standpoint, Blur beats out other NFT marketplaces and aggregators,
But while there's nothing wrong with the quality of what Blur offers, mass adoption remains a concern. Professional users may find the experience good, but beginners may find that the features offered by Blur can't match the ease of use offered by marketplaces such as OpenSea. With the popularity of encryption and NFT applications, Blur may also expand its user base, but if it wants to surpass OpenSea, it needs to take care of professional users and "novice whites" to make its platform more accessible and friendly to a wider audience.
In general, Blur is a new NFT platform with great potential. If the full score is 5 points, Blur can reach 4 points overall, which is worthy of attention.
