Analyzing the development history of OpenSea and Blur, will Blur's innovative airdrop strategy become the key to success?

This article is authorized and reprinted from Wa!t C., Co-Founder of ARTOGO, Research Writer of Matrix DAO. The original title is "How to participate in the Blur Season2 airdrop plan? Overview of OpenSea and Blur's development process, is Blur going to overtake?".

On February 14, 2023, Blur platform officially distributed the airdrop $Blur, with several top NFT players even receiving millions of dollars worth of tokens. Starting from the official announcement of the airdrop plan by Blur in October 2022, the current trading volume has far exceeded the former NFT Marketplace leader OpenSea. After a fierce competition between the two over the past half year, OpenSea made an unprecedented compromise on February 18, 2023, adjusting the platform's transaction fees to 0% and creator royalties to flexible settings (minimum 0.5%). Will OpenSea issue its own token in the future? Will Blur officially replace it as the leading NFT exchange? How to participate in the Blur Season 2 airdrop? These are currently hot topics of community concern.

OpenSea: Former NFT Trading Platform Leader Valued at $13 Billion, Focusing on Universality

OpenSea officially launched in February 2018 and received a $120,000 seed investment from Y Combinator the same year. However, the acceptance by YC was not for OpenSea itself, but for "Wificoin," a Wi-Fi sharing payment system using crypto. Later, with the emergence of CryptoKitties and ERC-721, OpenSea decided to fully focus on the NFT trading market. In July 2021, it secured a $1 billion investment led by Andreessen Horowitz at a valuation of $15 billion. In January 2022, it completed a $300 million Series C funding led by Paradigm and hedge fund Coatue Management, valuing the company at $13 billion.

Blur: Rising Star NFT Trading Platform Developed for Traders

Blur raised $11 million in seed funding in March 2022, focusing on an NFT trading platform developed for traders. It was led by Paradigm, and the product went online after internal testing in October, starting the Airdrop Season. Currently in Season 2, interactions before April 1 will have a double effect, with an expected total token incentive of $300 million.

Battle History Between the Two Platforms

November 2022: OpenSea blacklisted Blur by requesting new NFT projects to resist Blur through enforced royalties. Most creators chose OpenSea due to royalty income, resulting in NFT collections with enforced royalties on OpenSea not being tradable on Blur.

February 1, 2023: Blur created a new NFT trading system by utilizing OpenSea's Seaport, bypassing OpenSea's blacklist control. As Seaport is not on OpenSea's blacklist, NFT projects blacklisted by OpenSea can now be traded through the new system on Blur.

February 16, 2023: Blur's Founder Pacman released "How to Earn Royalties on Blur," explaining that due to OpenSea's policy, creators cannot receive royalties on both OpenSea and Blur simultaneously. Four choices were outlined for creators, emphasizing that blocking OpenSea not only allows full royalties but also qualifies for Season 2 airdrops and Blur's exposure.

• No Block
• Block Blur
• Block OpenSea (RECOMMENDED)
• Don't block either

February 18, 2023: OpenSea adjusted transaction fees to 0%, with royalties defaulting to a minimum of 0.5% and flexible settings. Operator Filter will open all Marketplaces adopting the same strategy, signifying the surrender and lifting the ban on Blur.

Current Data and Valuation of OpenSea and Blur

Market Data

Currently, Blur and OpenSea rank as the top two in NFT Marketplace trading volume. Referring to data from the past three months (10/2022–02/2023):

• In terms of trading volume

After announcing the Season 1 airdrop plan in October, Blur rapidly caught up and officially surpassed OpenSea with double the trading volume in December last year, approaching 2.5 times by February this year. However, it can be observed that OpenSea's trading volume did not plummet significantly, suggesting that Blur's trading volume is largely stacked due to the incentive effect of airdrops.

• In terms of user volume

After the announcement of the Season 1 airdrop activity in October last year, Blur experienced nearly a twofold increase in user volume, but subsequent growth appeared to stagnate. While its trading volume is 2.5 times that of OpenSea, its user count is only about 15% of OpenSea's.

Project Valuation

OpenSea: Valued at $13 billion during the Series C funding in January 2022. It is worth noting that at that time, OpenSea held a market monopoly position, and NFT market trading volume was approximately 5 times what it is now.

Blur: Introduced its token in February 2023, with a total supply of 30 billion. The total circulating supply in February is 3.6 billion, with a price of $1.3 on February 19th. The current market capitalization is $5 billion, with a Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) of $40 billion.

Community Perspectives on the Dispute Between the Two Platforms

• @BTCdayu "Deep Logic Interpretation of OS New Policy - Why OS is Doomed"
  • The victory of Blur is not about royalties, fees, UI, or GAS Fees, but liquidity provision. For example, with AZUKI, you can instantly sell 500 units near the Floor Price on Blur.
  • OpenSea compromised with Blur for the first time, changing its previous tough stance, unblocking Blur and reducing platform transaction fees. However, it may be too late as Blur now has Season 2 airdrop incentives and a Loyalty system. Traders willing to provide depth will prioritize Blur.
  • OpenSea is currently in a dilemma, hindered by regulation and early investors, making it difficult to issue tokens decisively. Even if they issue tokens, they are copying Blur's marketing approach and falling behind in efficiency. A feasible suggestion is to buy the current circulating tokens and negotiate acquisition with Blur to ensure a dominant monopoly position. This is also positive for $Blur.

• 0xSun "Perspectives of Senior Players on the Current NFT Marketplace"
  • Looks was the first platform to challenge OpenSea, offering an airdrop when OpenSea was reluctant to issue tokens, gaining popularity and reputation. However, despite adopting low platform fees and staking trading rewards, it continued to decline due to the lack of disruptive innovation.
  • X2Y2 followed a similar path, emphasizing ultra-low platform fees and batch order functions, but lagging in marketing efforts.
  • Blur entered the market as an aggregator, providing a comprehensive user experience, attracting a large number of traders with zero platform fees and optional creator royalties.
  • Through mysterious airdrop activities, it attracted players from the crypto community and airdrop enthusiasts, igniting the market with Season 2 at launch, creating a wealth effect. However, current liquidity heavily relies on the expected rewards from Blur. The sustainability and future measures of Blur, coupled with the absence of the APP version, make OpenSea a friendlier choice for ordinary NFT participants.

• wale.swoosh "You are a Marketplace that takes one L after the other?"
  • On February 16, Blur launched its own Filter to exclude OpenSea listings in response to OpenSea's exclusion policy.
  • On February 18, OpenSea officially announced the lifting of the Block Blur and reducing transaction fees to 0%, with the option to set creator royalties (minimum 0.5%) independently.
  • This move is foolish, as it not only causes OpenSea to lose market share but also turns OpenSea into a "Blur without token rewards." They will lose both Trader & Creator dual users.
  • OpenSea's original major advantage was protecting creators' royalties, as they claimed in December 2022. However, the statement on February 18 completely contradicted their previous stance, making their past statements appear very hypocritical.
  • From an individual perspective, OpenSea's response could involve issuing tokens. If that is not feasible, they may consider pivoting to focus on a Creator-centric trading market, upholding their previous promises and forming alliances with other Marketplaces.

How to Participate in Blur Season 2 and Receive Subsequent Token Airdrops?

Through Bid

• Principle: The larger the Bid trading volume and the closer the Bid price to the Floor Price, the higher Bid Points you will receive.

Based on your liquidity, search for high-volume NFT projects to Bid on. You can Bid on multiple projects with the same funds, design the Bid price and Floor Price difference according to your risk level, and adjust your bidding position when monitoring the market.

For project selection, you can use the Trending section to view the most active projects or those with significant Bid accumulations (e.g., Moonbirds Oddities).

Example: Assuming your liquidity is 1e, you can simultaneously bid on multiple projects at 0.8e or 0.9e to accumulate points. If you have time to monitor, you can bid closer to the Floor Price, such as Rektguy, which had a trading volume of 900e in the past day, with a current Floor Price of 1.26, where you can bid 1e and sell promptly if acquired.

• Special Attention

If accidentally purchased, you can list on both Blur and OpenSea. Ensure that the pricing on OpenSea is higher than Blur to receive Listing Loyalty points.

Bid on high-volume projects to ensure prompt resale. Also, be cautious with newly issued or suddenly popular projects. Focusing on projects with a stable community consensus over time, such as blue-chip and related derivatives (e.g., MAYC & Otherdeed, AZUKI & BEANZ, Doodle & Genesis Box), can help avoid risks.

Through List

• Principle: The higher the List trading volume and the closer the List price to the Floor Price and Top trait, the higher List Points you will receive.

List your owned NFT projects on Blur. When listing on OpenSea, ensure the price is set higher than Blur to receive Listing Loyalty points.

• Operational Approaches in Different Scenarios

If you own rare feature NFTs but do not want to sell: Typically, there is a significant price difference between Floor and Top trait. For example, Otherside has many traits, and you can consider listing your ownership at the Top Trait's Floor Price to earn points and avoid selling risks.

If you have ETH but no NFTs: Your Bids' execution will also accumulate points. Therefore, bid and list repeatedly on the top 10 projects by trading volume to quickly accumulate points. Note that each operation incurs a minimum 0.5% royalty cost.

If your NFT is labeled by OpenSea: Based on the Season 1 scenario, listing NFTs labeled by OpenSea will also earn points. Typically, labeled NFTs are difficult to sell and cannot accept offers, making it possible to earn bonus points by listing at a price below the Floor Price. This approach is suitable for future projects with clear empowerment and burning mechanisms, such as Dooplicator and Moonbirds Oddities.

Updated Note: Blur announces Season 2 airdrop plan! Three methods to increase loyalty, with 300 million BLUR tokens waiting for you to claim

Risk Disclaimer

• Exercise caution in managing ETH and NFT positions to avoid one-sided overexposure, leading to liquidity shortages.
• Current high Gas Fees in the market, coupled with Blur's minimum 0.5% royalty limit, may result in transaction cost erosion.
• Blur's market hype is based on the wealth effect of Season 1 and the airdrop expectation of Season 2. Although it has 2.5 times the trading volume of OpenSea, its user count is only 15% of OpenSea's.
• The duration of Season 2 and the related applications of $Blur tokens are not yet clearly defined.