OpenSea Unveils Plans for Enforcing Creator Fees
NFT marketplace OpenSea has announced its intention to develop a new tool aimed at assisting creators in enforcing creator fee payments on its platform.
The topic of creator royalties has been a contentious issue within the NFT industry since its inception. As various platforms have taken clear stances on the matter, OpenSea has been notably silent until now, until they recently shared their insights and strategies for enforcing royalties directly on the blockchain.
In a recent statement, OpenSea expressed that the past few months have been challenging, stating, “With many marketplaces choosing to stop enforcing creator fees, to put it bluntly, the last few months haven’t felt WAGMI,” referencing the popular crypto abbreviation for “We’re All Gonna Make It.”
Highlighting the desires of creators, the platform underscored that the responsibility of enforcing fees should ultimately lie with the creators themselves, rather than being dictated by marketplaces.
“So we’re building tools we hope will balance the scales by putting more power in creators’ hands to control their business model,” stated OpenSea on social media. The platform intends to introduce a new tool that will enable royalty enforcement for new collections launched on its marketplace.
OpenSea explains that this tool consists of a straightforward piece of code that creators can incorporate into their NFT contracts, as well as into their preexisting upgradeable contracts. This code will restrict NFT sales to marketplaces that enforce creator fees, thereby ensuring that creators receive their rightful royalties.
Commencing on November 8, OpenSea will begin enforcing creator fees exclusively for new collections that implement the on-chain enforcement tool. In the coming months, the platform plans to introduce additional features related to this initiative and will be seeking feedback from the community regarding these developments.
For existing collections already on the platform, OpenSea has indicated that there will be no changes until December 8, allowing for a smooth transition for creators and collectors alike.
OpenSea remains open to exploring various approaches to creator fees, which may include enforcing off-chain fees for specific collections, offering optional creator fees, or collaborating with creators on other on-chain enforcement mechanisms.
This announcement arrives during a period of significant debate regarding royalty enforcement within the NFT space. In a related move, NFT marketplace Magic Eden has recently opted to implement an optional royalties model, providing buyers the choice to pay royalties when purchasing NFTs on its platform.
