Yuga Labs, the brains behind the famed NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has decided to withdraw support for OpenSea due to modifications in the platform’s royalty structure.
In a recent tweet on Saturday, Yuga Labs conveyed its intentions to phase out support for OpenSea. This decision comes in the wake of OpenSea’s forthcoming elimination of the Operator Filter, a tool designed to enforce on-chain royalties.
The statement from Yuga Labs noted, “As OpenSea transitions, Yuga Labs will progressively cease support for OpenSea’s SeaPort for all upgradeable contracts and future collections. This transition is projected to conclude by February 2024.”
Last November, OpenSea integrated the Operator Filter, allowing creators to ensure that their NFT secondary sales happen only on platforms that uphold creator royalties.
The Operator Filter was designed to exclude platforms like Blur from engaging in secondary sales.
Yet, OpenSea recently declared its intention to phase out this tool by the close of August.
OpenSea justified this move, pointing to its limited adoption within the ecosystem, existing loopholes that enabled platforms to circumvent the tool, and resistance from creators.
Reacting to OpenSea’s announcement, Yuga Labs took to Twitter to detail its strategy of gradually decreasing its reliance on OpenSea’s SeaPort marketplace smart contract.
Throughout their statement, Yuga Labs emphasized their dedication to safeguarding creator royalties, ensuring that artists receive fair remuneration for their contributions.
BAYC Community Supports Yuga Labs Decision
Yuga Labs’ declaration received a warm welcome from the BAYC community, including influential content creators and heads of other distinguished NFT initiatives, such as EllioTrades and Alex Becker.
Dotta, the CEO and co-founder of the Forgotten Runes Wizards Cult NFT venture, voiced her approval for Yuga Labs’ stance. She emphasized the collective strength of creators to pivot to platforms that emphasize royalty compensations.
In a recent tweet, she remarked, “When creators come together, they have the collective might to navigate towards marketplaces that value royalties. Yuga spearheading this initiative is the catalyst we’ve been waiting for.”
Yuga is banning OpenSea in light of their choice to stop enforcing creator royalties
You love to see it
Like I mentioned yesterday, OpenSea taught us how to filter exchanges with bad behavior by giving us the OperatorFilter registry
Those of us that implemented it, now plan on…
— dotta (@dotta) August 18, 2023
Similarly, Luca Netz, the head of the Pudgy Penguins NFT initiative, hinted that his venture might tread the same path as Yuga Labs.
The matter of creator royalties has evolved into a contentious subject in the NFT realm in recent times.
In the earlier stages of the NFT surge in 2021, the enforcement of creator royalties was standard practice.
As the landscape evolved, platforms such as Blur emerged in October 2022, introducing a model with no trading fees and a flexible approach to creator royalty payments.
This introduction upset the status quo, prompting a reduction in both trading fees and royalty percentages as platforms vied for user base.
Presently, a palpable rift exists in the NFT community: on one side are proponents of the cost-effective trading model presented by platforms like Blur, advocating for novel ways to remunerate creators; on the other, staunch supporters who firmly believe in upholding royalty payments.
