Changes are in the air for the major non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, OpenSea. The platform has decided to make creator fees optional for new collections, moving away from mandatory creator royalties on the platform. This key decision stems from the retirement of the Operator Filter – an enforcement tool for creator royalties.
While some adaptations to the marketplace will affect the secondary market of NFT sales, any existing collections using the Operator Filter will stay undisturbed, having preferred royalties enforced until the end of February 2024. The announcement of these forthcoming modifications came from the CEO of OpenSea, Devin Finzer, and are scheduled to take place on the last day of August.
The noteworthy shift is powered by three underlying reasons, as described by OpenSea. The most substantial being the lack of community support for their Operator Filter – a success reliance on full ecosystem support that, unfortunately, did not transpire.
Another motive for the alternations is hinged on a matter of choice on creator fees. OpenSea maintained that the complete ownership of an NFT implies that users should have the flexibility to hold, sell, or even destroy it without any external meddling. The matter of choice appears to be crucial for both NFT collectors and creators.
The final point underlines that creator fees represent merely one of the many potential revenue streams for NFT creators. In OpenSea’s own words, they’re aiming to “empower innovation beyond a single use case or business model”. For a long time, OpenSea held a dominant position in the NFT trading space, even still ranking as the second-largest marketplace concerning 30-day trading volume, according to data from DappRadar.
Despite the changes, a discernible aura of scepticism hovers around the updates. The effects on the creator’s decision to opt for optional royalties instead of mandatory fees will be interesting to observe in the coming months. The optimism of OpenSea hinges on the belief that this move will open new vistas of opportunities for creators but subdued doubt remains in terms of the actual outcome in real practice. Without the Operator Filter, will they maintain their marketplace dominance? Only time and wide-spread adoption from the community and creators will tell.
Source: Cryptonews
