Blur dominates, flips OpenSea despite falling NFT trading volumes

DappRadar, an analytics platform, while analyzing the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace landscape in April 2023, shows that Blur is the most dominant platform, leading OpenSea.

Blur flips OpenSea to dominate the NFT marketplace scene

According to the report, OpenSea, feeling the heat from Blur, launched OpenSea Pro (OS Pro), a platform targeted toward professional traders, at the beginning of April 2023.

OS Pro aims to attract high-volume trading with a temporary zero percent marketplace fee and a minimum creator royalty of 0.5 percent.

However, despite these efforts, OpenSea’s trading volumes declined by 28%, forcing its dominance lower to 21.93% in April.

Meanwhile, Blur has maintained its position as the dominant player in the NFT marketplace, commanding a market share of 65.94%. It is despite its trading volumes decreasing by 33.19%, a $826m reduction.

The report highlights that Blur’s ongoing success can be attributed to its innovative approach, including the recent introduction of Blend. It is a peer-to-peer (P2P) perpetual lending protocol developed in collaboration with Paradigm, a leading venture capital firm.

The research further shows that Blend has generated substantial interest within the NFT community. DappRadar reveals that just one day after its launch, Blur facilitated 8,820 ETH loans through the Blend protocol, equivalent to approximately $16.37m.

The perpetual lending protocol allows NFT collectors to finance their purchases without relying on oracles or facing expiration dates. Furthermore, Blend’s market participants enjoy feeless transactions with the flexibility of using NFTs as collateral.

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Competitive NFT landscape

While Blur’s Blend has emerged as a popular NFT lending protocol, competing platforms also grew their user base, increasing total value locked (TVL).

For instance, BendDAO, a P2P NFT liquidity platform, has grown its TVL to $227m from the beginning of the year.

Another notable player in the market is NFTfi, a P2P loan marketplace utilizing NFTs as collateral.

The report highlights that NFTfi’s TVL rose to $28m by the end of April, a 180% increase from January 2023.

Sudoswap, despite its relatively lower TVL of $4.6m, also posted gains. The platform offers P2P trading and liquidity mining.

The battle for supremacy

As the battle for NFT marketplace dominance intensifies between Blur and OpenSea, these groundbreaking innovations, such as Blend and OpenSea Pro, challenge the existing landscape and redefine the user experience within NFT platforms.

With new developments on the horizon, the report concludes that the ultimate victor in this high-stakes battle remains uncertain.

The report suggests that the battle for NFT marketplace supremacy not only revolves around Blur and OpenSea but also highlights the broader competitive landscape. With each platform catering to specific user preferences, the NFT marketplace scene is diversifying options for market participants.

As the NFT marketplace evolves, industry experts anticipate further advancements and disruptive developments in the coming months.

The report suggests that trading volumes will determine the battle for NFT marketplace dominance. Nevertheless, the ability of platforms to adapt to changing user needs, introduce cutting-edge technologies, and foster a thriving community, will be a factor to consider.

Ultimately, the outcome of the competition between Blur and OpenSea remains uncertain.

However, the report concludes that the emergence of strong contenders like Blur and the increasing popularity of innovative lending protocols such as Blend signify a broader shift within the NFT marketplace. The industry is witnessing a transformation where platforms are not merely trading hubs but comprehensive ecosystems that offer various financial services and unique experiences to NFT enthusiasts.

Read more: Former OpenSea executive convicted of insider trading involving NFTs