In the past month, the NFT market has experienced a significant uptick in activity, primarily driven by the Blur marketplace. According to The Block's Data Dashboard, Ethereum-based NFT trading reached $605 million in November, marking a nearly 100% increase from October's $306 million. The trend continues into December, with the month's trading volume already nearing $90 million, with almost $70 million attributed to transactions on Blur.
Blur Dominates Ethereum NFT Landscape
Since February, Blur has witnessed a substantial shift in market share, surpassing OpenSea and now commanding approximately 80% of the total Ethereum-based NFT trading volume. OpenSea, once a dominant player, now holds only 17% of the market share. Additionally, there has been a notable increase in trading on Solana-based NFT marketplaces, with Tensor leading the way with over $5 million in daily trades as of November 30.
Blur Marketplace: A Driving Force in NFT Market Growth
Blur, launched in October 2022, has emerged as a zero-fee NFT marketplace catering to professional NFT traders. With innovative features like real-time price feeds, portfolio management, and multi-marketplace NFT comparisons, Blur distinguishes itself in the competitive NFT space. The native token of the Blur marketplace, BLUR, has seen a remarkable 100% gain over the last month, reaching a price rally expectation of $1.
Blur Surpasses OpenSea in Transaction Volume
On December 3, the Ethereum NFT market witnessed a surge in transaction volume, reaching $34.786 million, the highest figure since June 29. Blur dominated with an 80% share, surpassing OpenSea at 18%. Noteworthy NFT collections, including Pudgy Penguins, Azuki, and Milady, experienced significant increases during this period.
OpenSea Faces Challenges Amidst New Players
Once the largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea has been grappling with challenges, including a 50% reduction in its workforce. Despite these setbacks, the introduction of "OpenSea 2.0" aims to enhance the platform's fundamental aspects. However, recent developments, such as Tiger Global reducing its stakes in the Bored Ape Yacht Club and OpenSea, indicate a challenging market posture for the former market leader.
BLUR Faces Price Decline Despite Marketplace Growth
Despite the growth in demand for Blur's NFT marketplace, BLUR's governance token experienced a 20% price decline in the last seven days. This decline was attributed to a significant fall in demand, reflected in a 99% decrease in trading volume. The drop in BLUR's demand was influenced by low profits from transactions, as indicated by its 7-day MVRV ratio and the profit-to-loss transaction ratio.
BLUR's Network Activity and Supply Dynamics
While BLUR's demand and price faced a decline, network activity on the Blur NFT marketplace increased in the last week. Unique active wallets completing transactions rose to 19,000, with a 24% increase in weekly transactions and a 25% jump in the fiat value of all transactions, totaling $145 million. Meanwhile, BLUR's supply on exchanges increased, indicating a tendency among token holders to sell, putting further downward pressure on its price.