One of the prominent NFT marketplaces globally, OpenSea, is poised to deactivate its Royalty feature Operator Filter by August 31, according to a blog post penned by the founder and CEO, Devin Finzer. This transition towards optional creator fees aims to align the platform with the essence of choice and ownership, catering to the preferences of both creators and collectors.
Since its inception in November 2022, the Operator Filter has been touted as empowering creators with increased control over their web3 business models. However, this endeavor did not meet its goals, as Finzer noted. The CEO elaborated that certain web3 marketplaces such as Blur, Dew, and LooksRare strategically circumvented the Operator Filter to evade enforcing creator fees on their platforms.
Additionally, some creators found the Operator Filter constrictive, limiting their control over collections’ sale—which goes against the ideals of decentralized ownership. “So, we are giving collectors more flexibility and choice on creator fees,” Finzer wrote.
Furthermore, the platform aspires to enable creators to extend their reach beyond single-use cases or business models, introducing innovative possibilities. What can users anticipate?
Collections currently utilizing the OpenSea Operator Filter will remain active until August 31. Subsequently, creator fees will become optional. However, for collections employing the tool and pre-existing collections on non-Ethereum blockchains, the creator’s preferred fees will be enforced until February 29, 2024.
OpenSea made it clear that creator fees are not disappearing altogether but will cease to be imposed unilaterally. “To be clear, creator fees aren’t going away—merely the ineffective, unilateral enforcement of them,” clarified Finzer.
The realm of NFT [non-fungible token] creator royalties has recently stirred up significant debate, notably surrounding the popular NFT marketplace OpenSea. The focal point of this debate revolves around whether NFT creators should receive ongoing royalties each time their creations are resold on the secondary market.
OpenSea’s Royalty Tool Stirred Debates
Advocates for NFT creator royalties contend that it’s a fair and essential method to compensate artists and project initiators for the enduring value of their work, akin to how traditional artists are compensated. Critics, however, argue that OpenSea’s efforts to curate a “registry” of marketplaces that ostensibly bypass creator royalties have raised questions.
OpenSea earlier countered these claims by saying the feature instead aims to support creators, suggesting that by blocking or prohibiting these marketplaces, creators will benefit. Yet, skeptics contend that this move places creators in a dilemma, forcing them to choose between OpenSea and these alternative platforms.