Written by: William Peaster

Compiled by: TechFlow

$BLUR is finally here. This is the new governance token for NFT marketplace Blur, which was skyrocketed to the platform’s users yesterday.

Anticipation for the airdrop, which is tallied across three gamified phases that reward trading, listing, and bidding, has significantly raised Blur’s profile and helped it become a legitimate rival to long-time NFT marketplace giant OpenSea.

However, airdrops alone are not enough to become a competitor to OpenSea. The hype and momentum created by airdrops are temporary and will only go so far.

Take NFT marketplaces LooksRare and X2Y2, for example, both launched LOOKS and X2Y2 token incentives early last year. As you can see in the price comparison chart below, both tokens had a lot of excitement when they were initially launched, and both have seen a big drop in price since then. Over time, both tokens have failed to take a significant amount of market share from OpenSea. Sure, their stories are still being told, but it’s clear now that they’re not as exciting or enticing as they once were.

So Blur's launch of $BLUR is a strategy to achieve decentralized governance coordination and to grab market share from OpenSea and other competitors. However, most of the effects of this latter tactic are likely to be temporary and have been reflected by the market before and after the launch of $BLUR.

So, what’s the good news for Blur? It does have an engaging UX, which makes it a legitimate challenger to OpenSea in a real sense, beyond token economics.

For example, Blur aggregates NFT listings from all major NFT markets, including Seaport Protocol from OpenSea, so that Blur is no longer restricted by OpenSea's market blocklist. In contrast, OpenSea currently only aggregates projects from Seaport, such as ENS Vision and Sound.

Additionally, Blur’s listings refresh quickly, setting itself apart from the competition with real-time listings and instant NFT metadata display. According to Blur, its market is 10 times faster and nearly 20% more gas efficient than Gem, OpenSea’s NFT aggregator for experienced traders.

Rich selection, impressive speed, and smooth user experience — these are the pillars that Blur aims to gain a foothold on and gain more market share through. But the question is, over time, will these pillars, along with the launch of $BLUR, be enough to truly overtake OpenSea?

To be sure, Blur has more work to do if it wants to overtake OpenSea, which already dominates the space.

Launched in December 2017, OpenSea has been at the forefront for many years and has become a dominant player in the NFT ecosystem, accumulating unparalleled depth of experience and resources during its remarkable ascent.

Where OpenSea is currently running parallel is in NFT trading volume levels, with Blur running neck and neck with the incumbent giant (OpenSea) for weeks now.

This phenomenon is very impressive, but it is also heavily influenced by the expectations of $BLUR, whose tactical effects we have already noted will ultimately be temporary.

If Blur is to truly win the war in the NFT market, it will need to continue to meaningfully advance and build upon its UX pillars and the launch of $BLUR. This is easier said than done, right, so what should this upstart do?

In my opinion, in order to become the next NFT market champion, Blur needs to have the following five things.

1. Protect the moat

Blur's speed advantage is real, its gas efficiency is very high, and its bid system is very flexible. Of course, these are Blur's unique moats now.

These moats are only moats as long as they are unique to Blur, but if other competitors catch up on these fronts (which is possible), then these moats for Blur will evaporate.

Blur needs to stay faster, more efficient, and more flexible if it wants to win. Again, this is easier said than done, and there may not be an immediate answer, but no matter what: the moat must be defended.

That said, 65% of Blur's early users came from OpenSea and Gem so if Blur can secure its moat, those users may switch for good. As an admirer of Gem, I can say that right now I find the user experience of Blur and Gem to be pretty evenly matched - there are things about Blur that I like better, things about Gem that I like better, and I like both of them a lot.

2. Keep the rewards

Blur’s gamified airdrops have been an influential strategy that has until now helped the marketplace keep pace with OpenSea in terms of NFT trading volume levels.

This is a tactical win, but Blur needs to chain more tactical wins to succeed, even if the effect is only temporary. It looks like Blur has taken this lesson to heart. Since the airdrop, they have launched a "Season 2" $BLUR reward, which will double all Bid and Listing Points on the market for the next month. The seasonal approach makes a lot of sense here.

3. Advancement plan

If Blur wants to keep moving forward, it must continue to develop and innovate. Facing the champion OpenSea, stagnation for whatever reason will undoubtedly make Blur lose the window of opportunity.

For example, perhaps Blur could eventually try to outdo OpenSea by bringing an optimized professional trading user experience to all top L2 chains. We’ll see. But it will ultimately come down to how the Blur team prioritizes what they believe is best and executes and innovates around those initiatives in a skilled manner.

4. Keep fighting spirit

Blur is undoubtedly at a disadvantage in this competition. OpenSea's capabilities, resources, and active users are enormous.

The Blur team will not be able to defeat OpenSea if they let the odds against them get to their heads. Sometimes the underdog wins, and sometimes it’s the indomitable fighting spirit — the desire to “we will win” that, over time, makes the difference against the incumbents who lie flat on their backs.

5. Pray there is no $SEA token

I mean, half of any battle is what the other side does. In other words, Blur can maintain liquidity for its $BLUR rewards and continue to roll out cool features one after another, but it’s hard to guarantee that it won’t be beaten to the punch by OpenSea.

In fact, many people thought it was a foregone conclusion that OpenSea would never launch its own token. That may well be the case. But imagine if they did airdrop $SEA to their users? This would be a landmark move that could further solidify OpenSea’s dominance for years to come.

After all, isn’t the way for OpenSea to beat Blur to attack all four of the above points? Cannibalize Blur’s user experience moat, launch its own rewards, and advance its own plans and fighting spirit? Even more, OpenSea may eventually not need $SEA to beat Blur for a while.

Accordingly, for the Blur team, it may not just be about getting everything right. It may also be like chess, about executing their plans competently while also hoping that OpenSea makes a wrong call!

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