Upstart NFT Marketplace Declares All Out War On Rival

TL;DR:

  • The NFT marketplace is getting extremely competitive, and a war of words and wills has started amongst them.
  • Upstart marketplace BLUR has escalated hostility towards OpenSea, its chief rival, by announcing a provocative policy change. BLUR will enforce full creator royalties for any collection that blocks trading on OpenSea.
  • BLUR does not fully honor creator royalty settings as the platform does not enforce a fee that NFT creators routinely request on secondary sales of their works. Currently, the platform only enforces a 0.5% minimum creator royalty, with the option for traders to pay more.
  • The move by BLUR is framed as a purely defensive survival tactic, forced by OpenSea’s non-competitive practices. The move is a major hit to Blur’s value proposition to NFT artists.
  • BLUR hosts much more wash trading than OpenSea. It has been able to circumvent OpenSea’s blocklist tool in recent weeks.

Blur goes all out

NFT marketplaces have become incredibly competitive, and this is causing a war of words and wills among them. The most recent marketplace to make headlines is BLUR, which has announced a policy change to enforce full creator royalties for any collection that blocks trading on OpenSea.

Blur’s latest move is framed as a defensive survival tactic against OpenSea’s non-competitive practices. The company argued that creators that whitelist both OpenSea and Blur should be able to earn royalties on both platforms, and it would like OpenSea to stop automatically setting royalties to optional when they detect trading on Blur. OpenSea is a $13.3 billion company and is the most critical marketplace in the Ethereum NFT ecosystem, while Blur has been riding high after airdropping its long-awaited BLUR token, which was responsible for propelling it to its current position as OpenSea’s most viable threat in recent months and some even excited that there is a challenge to the supremacy of Opensea.

It is not yet clear how long Blur can sustain its current popularity following its recent token launch, but the company is capitalizing on the moment to challenge its most powerful competitor. Despite Blur’s attempts to gain an edge, it should be noted that OpenSea’s policies carry a lot of weight and are still the norm in the industry. Furthermore, the NFT community widely rejected the idea of not honoring creator royalties, prompting OpenSea to roll out a blocklist tool allowing creators to prohibit their NFTs from being traded on any marketplace that didn’t honor creator royalties.

Wash trading on Blur?

The upstart rival has even topped OpenSea in terms of overall Ethereum NFT trading volume of late, although it hosts much more wash trading (or manipulated trades to game its token rewards model) than OpenSea. It has reportedly been able to circumvent OpenSea’s blocklist tool in recent weeks.

Wash trading is a significant issue in the NFT marketplace. Wash trading is a fraudulent practice that involves creating trades between two accounts owned by the same person to create the illusion of market activity. This practice can manipulate token rewards and create a false impression of a vibrant marketplace. It is important for marketplaces to have measures in place to prevent wash trading.

BLUR-ry policy

BLUR does not fully honor creator royalty settings as the platform does not enforce a fee that NFT creators routinely request on secondary sales of their works. Currently, the platform only enforces a 0.5% minimum creator royalty, with the option for traders to pay more.

For BLUR to make this move is a risky one, as royalty fees can generate millions of dollars in revenue, especially for dominant collections. No marketplace has been nearly as critical to the broader Ethereum NFT ecosystem as OpenSea. The move by BLUR is framed as a zero-sum game between two of the NFT ecosystem’s top players.

It is usually recommended that NFT creators choose a marketplace based on their goals, rather than the marketplace’s popularity. It is important to understand the fees that each marketplace charges, the royalties that they enforce, and the tools that they provide for creators to protect their work. BLUR’s move is a reminder that NFT marketplaces can change their policies at any time.

In conclusion, the NFT marketplace is incredibly competitive, and this is causing a war of words and wills amongst the marketplaces. BLUR’s move to enforce full creator royalties for any collection that blocks trading on OpenSea is risky, but it is a reminder that NFT marketplaces can change their policies at any time. As an NFT consultant, I recommend that NFT creators choose a marketplace based on their goals, rather than the marketplace’s popularity. Wash trading is a significant issue in the NFT marketplace, and it is important for marketplaces to have measures in place to prevent wash trading.

 

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