NFT
In the weeks since leading non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Blur released its lending platform Blend, it has captured 82% of the total lending volume market share.
According to a report from blockchain data aggregator DappRadar released Wednesday, Blend collected 169,900 ETH, or about $308 million in trading volume, in its first 22 days. During that same time, the trading volume on all lending platforms reached about $375 million.
At the release date, the platform had 4,200 ETH, or approximately $7.6 million, in lending volume, meaning Blend has seen a 3,945% increase in its trading volume in just under a month.
During the same period, total NFT market trading volumes reached $466 million, according to DappRadar, indicating a shift in attitude from NFT holdings to NFT loans. In addition, 46.2% of Blur’s total trading volume now comes from loans.
Sara Gherghelas, a blockchain data analyst at DappRadar, told CoinDesk that while Blend’s success is promising in driving capital into stagnant NFT markets, it comes with its own concerns about the maturity of the market and its impact on collection prices. .
“The importance of this large volume can be positive as it indicates liquidity and market validity,” said Ghergelas. “However, there are also potential downsides as high volumes on Blend can increase price volatility, affect market stability and make it difficult for traders to accurately predict price movements.”
The report also notes that since the launch of Blend, Blur’s Total Value Locked (TVL) has increased from $119 million to $146 million. However, it says wash trading remains a concern and $19 million of that was traded in the past week.
“The importance of this number is that it raises concerns about the legitimacy of trading volume on the Blur platform and also across the NFT industry,” said Ghergelas. “It is important for platforms and market participants to maintain transparency and avoid manipulative practices that could mislead market participants, especially if we want wider adoption of NFTs.”
Blur rolled out Blend, Blur Lending, on May 1 to court traders who couldn’t afford to pre-purchase an expensive blue-chip NFT. However, a handful of collectors have been concerned that new traders may be unaware of changing market trends and thus face liquidity issues when paying off their loans.
According to data platform Dune Analytics, Blur has amassed trading volume of more than $120 million in the past week, while trailing number two marketplace OpenSea by nearly $37 million. Meanwhile, Opensea leads with nearly 59,000 active users, while Blur follows with around 26,000.
