Binance Marketplace, cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s non-fungible token (NFT) trading platform, is launching a new service Friday where users can borrow Ether by using their NFTs as collateral. It will compete with Blend — the trading protocol from world leading NFT trading platform Blur — which has cornered 82% of the NFT loans market since it launched on May 2.

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Fast facts

  • “Users can enjoy greater flexibility on their NFT assets, and retain the potential long-term value of their NFTs without having to sell them,” Binance said in its announcement of its Binance NFT Loan service.
  • Upon launch, the service will support Ethereum loans only. It will also only support NFT collateral options from collections Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), Azuki, and Doodles.
  • Binance says that it is looking to expand those service options in the future.
  • To become the top NFT loan service in the sector, Binance will compete with the world’s largest NFT trading platform Blur.
  • Blur launched Blend — its own peer-to-peer lending protocol for NFTs — on May 2.
  • Blend dominates 82% of the entire NFT loans market. It recorded over US$308 million in loan volume in the first 22 days after launch, according to blockchain data aggregator DappRadar.
  • “The continuous nature of Blend’s loans has proven attractive to traders seeking additional leverage,” Brendan Humphries, head of business at peer-to-protocol NFT lending platform Pine Protocol, told Forkast via email.
  • “Products like Blend contribute to the continued maturation of the NFT market, increase market efficiency, and make the space more attractive to new entrants seeking sophisticated products and tools,” Humphries added.

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