Blur Rolls Out P2P NFT Lending Protocol Blend
On Monday 1 May, the NFT platform became Blur introduced the new lending protocol – Blend. The protocol will allow investors who would otherwise be priced out to enter the non-fungible token market by placing smaller down payments when looking to acquire blue-chip assets and has been compared to the way houses are often bought.
Blur unveils its new NFT lending protocol
This Monday, Blur unveiled its new NFT lending protocol – Blend. The peer-to-peer protocol connects lenders and borrowers and enables them to specify the terms such as the interest rate and acceptable collateral. The loans offered through Blend are perpetual, have a fixed interest rate, and enable the borrower to pay off the debt at any time.
Lenders can also exit a position by kick-starting a “Duch auction” which ends either with a new lender stepping in or, failing that, with the borrower being liquidated. Paradigm’s Dan Robinson – Blur’s key partner when it comes to protocol –described Blend as “a simple yet flexible protocol” and highlighted its ability to accept any type of security.
In its announcement, Blur likened its new protocol to acquiring a house by using a down payment and paying the rest through a mortgage. According to the marketplace, Blend will help significantly with liquidity and “will start the next stage of growth for the NFT market.”
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Blur’s Rapid Rise to Prominence
Blur first arrived on the scene in late 2022 and immediately positioned itself as an NFT marketplace built for professional investors. However, the marketplace skyrocketed in popularity in February this year after launching its much-anticipated token – BLUR. The launch was aimed at helping the marketplace’s users benefit from the platform’s success through community ownership and increasing traders’ ability to participate in the governance protocol.
In early March, Blur gained a lot of popularity and even managed to overtake OpenSea in trading volume. However, the data was somewhat controversial, as approximately 42% of all transactions on the platform at the time were allegedly related to laundry trading. Blur’s rapid rise is also notable for coinciding with a broader resurgence for non-fungible tokens.
As early as late 2022, NFT aggregators – platforms aimed at enabling easy access to the many non-fungible token marketplaces spread across multiple blockchains – rose to prominence, reaching a trading volume of nearly $2 billion. Interest in NFTs was also rekindled by the rise and spread of Bitcoin Ordinals.
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Do you plan to use Blend when buying NFTs from known pools? Let us know in the comments below.
About the author
Tim Fries is the co-founder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate in the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division and is also a co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
