Yuga Labs, the driving force behind the iconic Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, has made an announcement.
The developers have decided to terminate their partnership with OpenSea, a leading NFT marketplace. This move comes as a reaction to OpenSea’s upcoming shift towards a discretionary royalty structure, which has stirred a considerable response within the NFT community.
OpenSea, a prominent platform for trading non-fungible tokens (NFTs), recently unveiled changes to its creator fee structure.
As of August 31, 2023, new collections will no longer be mandated to include royalties. OpenSea’s introduction of this discretionary approach was communicated through an official statement on August 17.
Simultaneously, the Operator Filter—a mechanism enforcing creator royalties—will be deactivated.
However, NFT collections that had already integrated the Operator Filter before the August 31 deadline will still be required to adhere to mandatory creator royalties until February 29, 2024.
OpenSea defended its decision by asserting that the Operator Filter was devised to grant developers a stronger voice in the NFT ecosystem.
Nonetheless, industry insiders argue that this innovative feature has not been fully embraced by the Web3 community as expected.
In response, Yuga Labs took to Twitter to express its dissatisfaction with this development. The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s creators chose to voice their concerns through an open letter, subtly revealing their intent to discontinue support for OpenSea’s SeaPort—the marketplace protocol facilitating NFT trading.
Daniel Alegre, CEO of Yuga Labs, clarified the company’s position on the matter. Alegre stated that Yuga Labs would gradually phase out its support for OpenSea’s SeaPort, applying this change to both upgradeable contracts and any new collections.
This transition is expected to culminate by February 2024, aligning with OpenSea’s approach.
Alegre emphasized that the essence of NFTs lies in empowering creative individuals. He stressed that these tokens were initially conceived to provide artists and creators with a platform for self-expression and empowerment.
