OpenSea to enforce NFT royalties after creator backlash

OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace by trading volume, announced it will maintain NFT royalties after significant community backlash via a Nov. 10 tweet.

The marketplace said it will continue to enforce creator fees on all existing collections, explaining that consideration for both creators and collectors were taken leading up to this decision.

The ongoing economic downturn has caused NFT collectors to try to sell their NFTs for as much as they can. Hence, the trend of NFT marketplaces shifting towards the adoption of zero or optional royalties are on the rise.

Data shows that last week, nearly half of the creator fees (more than US$1 million) set by the top 20 collections were ignored.

OpenSea advises creators to build paths to on-chain enforcement for their collections, create more incentives for buyers to continue to pay royalties, and refrain from linking to zero-royalty marketplaces from their project website. The marketplace added that it will offer creators support in the above suggestions.

OpenSea’s decision to enforce NFT royalties is in reaction to significant pushback from the creator community and a wave of rival marketplaces that are shifting away from royalties.

Among the creators who spoke out include Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club and began organizing amongst themselves. 

Bobby Kim, co-founder of streetwear beans, The Hundreds, also announced the cancellation of the planned NFT drop on OpenSea, noting they were ‘waiting to see if OpenSea would take a stand to preserve creator royalties for existing collections.’

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