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BLUR

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Updated

Blur (BLUR) 

 

Most recent update: [June 26, 2023]  

 

What is BLUR? 

BLUR is an ERC-20 token associated with the Blur.io platform, which is an NFT marketplace. It aims to provide a user-friendly platform for artists and collectors to connect and engage with each other. The platform offers many advanced features, such as multi-marketplace NFT comparisons, real-time price feeds, customizable profiles, a messaging system, and a built-in wallet for managing NFTs. Unlike most NFT marketplaces that target retail users, Blur.io is aimed at professional NFT traders.

With batch shelf and floor-sweeping transactions, and a trader-friendly fee structure, Blur.io has become one of the fastest growing NFT marketplaces in recent years.

 

Who is behind BLUR? 

Blur.io launched in 2022 on the Ethereum mainnet. It was founded by Tieshun Roquerre, a high-school and MIT dropout who is most commonly referred to by his Twitter handle “Pacman”. He worked for Teepsring as a software engineer, cofounded StrongIntro, and created the crypto domain startup Namebase.

Roquerre’s identity was only revealed as of 2023, which means that most of his interactions with the community and role in Blur.io were assumed through the identity of his Twitter handle. Nonetheless, his self-published introduction provides links to his Github, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages, and also highlights a series of investment he’s made in projects such as Praxis, Lattice, and more.

 

How does it work? 

To access the Blur.io platform, users must connect either MetaMask or WalletConnect wallets. Once connected, they gain access to NFTs from a variety of marketplaces, such as OpenSea and LooksRare. From there, any pending transactions will be displayed almost immediately and every listing will be updated nearly every four seconds, allowing users to “snipe” NFTs.

While Blur.io already offers numerous features, new ones can be added or modified by having the community vote on them. The voting process is accomplished using the BLUR governance token, which is akin to the validator model of Proof-of-Stake blockchains. In addition, BLUR tokens can also be used as creator royalties for NFT issuers that choose to list their assets on the marketplace. By listing NFT royalties, creators can have access to a greater percentage of future airdrops, thus encouraging activity.

 

The BLUR Token and Tokenomics 

BLUR tokens are currently available for sale on multiple exchanges. The maximum supply is capped at 3,000,000,000 tokens, and as of March 10th 2023, the market cap for BLUR amounted to US$215,262,096. The current circulating supply of BLUR tokens is 404,987,995, and it is expected to reach peak capacity around February 2028.

The initial allocation for BLUR is broken down as follows:

  • Community: 51.0%
  • Contributors: 28.9%
  • Investors: 18.9%
  • Advisors: 1.2%

The BLUR token is purported to serve as a utility token for activities related to governance, rewards and incentives, but also to pay for transactions on the network.

 

Security 

The BLUR blockchain is secured through a validation mechanism that is inherent to Proof-of-Stake blockchains. It ensures the network moves in a direction that best serves the interests of its stakeholders.

Furthermore, by attaching a fee to the governance model (the BLUR token), spamming attacks are heavily discouraged since large sums of money would be required to perform them.

 

Drawbacks and risks 

While Blur.io may boast of a large NFT trading volume, on-chain data reveals that a majority of that volume is driven by a few entities who constantly buy and sell NFTs to “farm” token rewards. According to CryptoSlam, a platform that tracks NFT sales, this behavior can skew data and misrepresent true usage on the network. This theory was behind the platform’s decision to exclude around US$577 million in trades from their data analytics. Currently, only 300 wallets are responsible for as much as 50% of Blur.io’s NFT trading volume.

Another drawback is its governance model, which dictates that those with the largest BLUR holdings will have the largest sway in the network’s direction, which can raise concerns of decentralization and power concentration. 

Finally, NFTs still face skepticism from the public at large, with many critics summarizing them as “JPEGs” that people buy and sell. Therefore, the future of BLUR may be dependent on the public perception of non-fungible tokens.

 

Due Diligence  

Before listing BLUR on the VirgoCX Platform, VirgoCX performed due diligence on BLUR and determined that BLUR is unlikely to be a security or derivative under Canadian securities legislation. VirgoCX’s analysis includes reviewing publicly available information on the following:  

  • The creation, governance, and location of BLUR and/or its primary development team; 
  • The supply, demand, maturity and liquidity of BLUR; and 
  • Legal and regulatory risks associated with BLUR.  

Statutory Rights under Securities Legislation 

VirgoCX is offering Crypto Contracts on crypto assets in reliance on a prospectus exemption contained in the exemptive relief decision Re VirgoCX Inc. dated May 30th 2022 (the Decision). Please be aware that the statutory rights in section 130.1 of the Securities Act (Ontario) and, if applicable, similar statutory rights under the securities legislation of each other province and territory in Canada do not apply in respect of the Crypto Fact Sheet to the extent a Crypto Contract is distributed under the prospectus relief in the Decision. 

 

Further Reading 

To learn more about the technology behind BLUR, check out these in-depth resources here: 

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