Coinbase will blur when token rises 500% ahead of unlock

Coinbase announced that it would add support for the ERC-20 token BLUR, the governance token of pro-NFT trading marketplace Blur.io.

Coinbase said it would start trading the BLUR-USD pair when there is sufficient BLUR liquidity. The exchange will label BLUR as an experimental token, which will not be available in all jurisdictions.

BLUR Governance Tokens

The Blur marketplace, aimed at professional traders, sent BLUR governance tokens in care packages to early traders in October 2022. At the time, Blur.io said it would unlock the tokens in January 2023, but later postponed the rollout to February 14, 2023. amidst technical challenges.

Crypto projects use airdrops to generate buzz. In most cases, users qualify to receive free crypto coins by performing certain tasks that draw attention to a particular project.

Blur’s care packs have three rarity tiers: Uncommon, Rare, and Legendary, with the Legendary rarity tier containing the most BLUR. Blur’s first round of airdrops awarded to active traders in the six months following Blur’s launch with unusual care packs. The second airdrop took place in November 2022 and rewarded traders with rare care packs. The third airdrop, whose tokens will also be unlocked on February 14, 2023, received legendary packs.

At press time, BLUR was trading at $25.25, up 500% on the day pending the token unlock.

New marketplace surpasses OpenSea and Coinbase

In other news, Coinbase’s much-ballyhooted NFT marketplace has struggled to compete with incumbent OpenSea, let alone Blur itself.

On February 2, 2023, Fortune reported that the marketplace had handled a paltry $150 in trading volume and $1,500 in the week ending on that date. In comparison, OpenSea recorded trading volume of $10 million between January 26, 2023 and February 2, 2023.

Trading volumes Blur.io’s marketplace beat OpenSea on 12 out of 13 days in February, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard. Sales peaked at around $17 million on February 9, 2023, compared to OpenSea’s $14 million.

At the time, Coinbase denied that the pause in new artist drops signaled the platform’s demise, saying it was working to improve tools requested by artists.

Coinbase will fight the SEC over staking the product if necessary

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the company’s legal team would fight claims that its institutional crypto-staking product was a security. Staking allows those who wish to participate in blockchain security to earn rewards for validating transactions.

His tweet came after the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed an enforcement action against Coinbase competitor Kraken for offering its staking service as allegedly unregistered security to US customers. Kraken paid the SEC a $30 million settlement without admitting or denying wrongdoing, but pulled its betting product from its US domestic market.

Coinbase fired former chief product officer Ishan Wahi last year for his involvement in an insider trading case, revealing several tokens that would be listed on the platform 24 hours before their original listings. He will be sentenced at a hearing on 10 May 2023. Wahi’s younger brother is already serving a 10-month sentence for profiting from Ishan Wahi’s leak.

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