NFT
Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Blur recently launched its collateral lending protocol called Blend, enabling a buy now, pay later approach to buying NFTs.
Community members had mixed reactions. Some believe it is huge for space, while others called on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect users from such products.
On May 1, Blur launched a peer-to-peer perpetual lending protocol called Blend, a platform they developed with the help of the venture capital firm Paradigm. The protocol supports NFT collateral and the team claims it would collect zero fees from both lenders and borrowers.
A community member praised Blur’s new move, saying it’s huge for the space and makes things more efficient. They tweeted:
Huge for space – great move by @blur_io. This essentially allows you to lend your ETH for returns, and also provides better cash/jpeg efficiency. https://t.co/PikWKqN0Jn
— peepeedog.eth (@peepeedog) May 2, 2023
Meanwhile, another Twitter user thinks the OpenSea competitor’s new development is a good distraction from the overall negative sentiment within the NFT space. The community member may be referring to the dwindling number of NFT buyers in April. Sellers dominated the NFT market this month, according to data from analytics platform NFTGo.
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While some focused on the positives, others expressed their disapproval of NFT loans. A member of the community stressed the risk of not being able to pay the loan and losing a lot more money in the process. Meanwhile, an NFT collector took the opportunity to teach a lesson on NFTs.
1st rule for #NFTs: only invest money you can afford to lose. If you need a loan, you’re overexposed! So just don’t do it and don’t let blur tell you otherwise! In this room, children play with money. Giving them a loan and taking their pocket money is just criminal https://t.co/N3IqSWLTbL
— Taki_Nooby_Booby (@Taki_NoobyBooby) May 1, 2023
Web3 attorney Jesse Hynes tagged the SEC’s Twitter account saying it was the type of activity the commission should be protecting investors from. According to Hynes, it is “extremely dangerous”.
Blur has continually positioned itself within the NFT space, leading to moves by OpenSea in what the community informally refers to as the “NFT Marketplace Wars”. On February 18, OpenSea implemented 0% fees to win back its users from Blur. OpenSea also recently launched an advanced NFT marketplace aggregator in another attempt to rock the boat.
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