Blend Hits $300M Trading Volume in Just a Month Into its Launch

Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Blur recently released its lending platform named Blend and since then, it has been a no-show for its competitors. Ever since it was opened, Blur has captured 82% of the market share. 

Blend is Dominating Market Share

Blockchain data aggregator DappRadar revealed reports on Wednesday that the newly launched platform of Blend accumulated 169,900 ETH or about $308 million in trading volume. During the time Blend reached $308 million, all other NFT lending platforms reached a total of $375 million. 

On its release date, Blend only got an accumulated volume of 4,200 ETH or $7.6 million trading volume. In under a month by clocking $308 million the platform showed an increase of 3,945%. 

As per DappRadar during the same period, NFT market trading volumes reached only $466  million in trading volumes. The huge shift in trading volumes shows a bias toward NFT lending from NFT ownership. Additionally, Blur’s 46.2% of the total trading volume belongs to lending. 

Blockchain data analyst at DappRadar, Sara Gherghelas stated that although Blend’s success is a good boost to drive money flow into stagnant NFT markets but warned that it comes with its own concerns and impact on collection’s prices. 

Sara further said that this large trading volume carries a lot of importance as it indicates liquidity and market participation. She added a few concerns saying that such high volumes could increase volatility and stability which will make it harder for the traders to predict market movement accurately.

Legitimacy and Liquidity Issues With the Platform 

The report by DappRadr also suggested that since Blend’s launch the TotaL value locked of Blur has increased to $146 million from $119 million. The report, however, has raised concerns related to wash-trading as $19 million of the TVL has been wash-traded in the last week. 

Sara explained that such data not only raises questions about the legitimacy but about the entire industry as well. She further advised that the platforms and the users should maintain transparency, and avoid getting involved in manipulative practices or misinforming market participants.  

Blur Lending or Blend was rolled out on May 1 with the purpose to help participants who couldn’t buy expensive NFTs upfront. Few collectors however have raised concerns regarding the changing market trends and how it can affect participants while paying off their loans and can also face liquidity issues. 

A report by data platform Dune Analytics showed that Blur surpassed the trading volume of almost $120 million last week while OpenSea is trailing at second place with only $37 million. OpenSea has the upper hand with 59,000 active users while Blend has only 26,000. 

Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.

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