Keep Your Eye on the Blur v. OpenSea Fight: Galaxy

There is a total supply of 3 billion BLUR tokens, and 360 million were claimable by users on Tuesday

article-image

rafapress/Shutterstock.com modified by Blockworks

share

The day after its third and final highly-anticipated airdrop, Blur dropped more news: Creators cannot currently earn royalties on both Blur and OpenSea. The solution according to Blurs’ founders? Block trades on OpenSea. 

On Friday afternoon, OpenSea said it was moving to optional creator fees, with a 0.5% minimum, and it will no longer block creators from listing on marketplaces with the same policies. 

Loading Tweet..

NFT traders should keep their eyes on the ongoing tussle between OpenSea and Blur, according to Galaxy analysts. 

“The fact that most top traders on Blur effectively wash traded to farm the airdrop indicates that Blur’s volume may not have been organic compared to OpenSea’s,” researchers wrote. 

OpenSea said in November that creators looking to collect royalties had to block other marketplaces that did not fully honor the fees. Blur hasn’t fully eliminated royalties, but the net-effect of their revised policy is reducing the royalty percentage to a bare minimum of 0.5%, regardless of creator preferences, per analysts. 

Creators must block OpenSea if they want to collect their self-determined royalty percentage on Blur.

“Clearly, Blur is using their leverage to pressure OpenSea to collaborate with them instead of acting hostile with their block of Blur,” Galaxy said. “Time will tell if Blur’s strategy will pan work, but they’ve been the most successful OpenSea competitor to-date both in terms of metrics and product.”

NFT marketplace Blur released its first tokens Tuesday, pumping and plunging the token, but researchers at Galaxy anticipate relatively stable trading volume going forward — at least in the short term. 

After Blur’s native BLUR tokens dropped, their price briefly climbed to $6 on some exchanges, before falling to around $0.60 and finally settling in the $1 range.

There is a total supply of three billion Blur tokens, and 360 million were claimable on Tuesday. Tokens were allocated based on activity on the Blur exchange. 

“There are two key things to watch with respect to Blur,” Galaxy researchers wrote in a Friday note. “The most obvious is how much market share Blur can retain now that their $BLUR token is liquid. In the short term, we don’t expect a serious drop-off in trading volume due to the fact that Season 2 of their token incentive program will run for at least another 30 days.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (1).jpg

Research

As AI supercharges surveillance, privacy becomes a prerequisite and the winning stack will combine confidentiality with selective disclosure. Zcash’s Tachyon, composable standards on Ethereum/Solana, and compliance-aware pools aim to make private rails the new norm.

article-image

The startup says it aims to rival Stripe and Worldpay by using stablecoins to speed merchant settlements from days to seconds

by Blockworks /
article-image

“S&P 500” for crypto comes as segment gains “established role in global markets,” S&P exec says

article-image

The S&P Digital Markets 50 Index combines 15 cryptocurrencies with 35 crypto-linked companies, offering investors hybrid exposure

by Blockworks /
article-image

Gnosis is betting that openness — not ownership — will define the future of onchain money

article-image

Crypto’s quest to imbue shareholder protections for tokens

article-image

Grass previously raised a seed and Series A rounds and plans to utilize the token purchase to execute on its roadmap