OpenSea, the leading NFT marketplace, has made significant changes to its fee and royalty structure, which are set to have a profound impact on the platform’s user activity, including collectors and creators. The company announced these changes through its official Twitter account on February 17, 2023.
The first major announcement by OpenSea is the implementation of a 0% transaction fee policy, albeit for a limited time.
This move comes after OpenSea previously charged a 2.5% trade levy, which forms a significant portion of its revenue. This change will likely attract more traders to the platform, as they will no longer have to pay fees for their transactions.
In addition to the trading fee policy change, OpenSea also announced that it would be employing an optional creator earnings program. This program mandates that collectors only pay a 0.5% royalty fee on all new and old NFT projects that lack an on-chain enforcement method.
However, users are free to pay a higher percentage if they see fit. This change is a significant attraction point of OpenSea’s new policy, as creators usually enjoy a royalty fee fixed between 5%-10% of the sale price, serving as the primary source of continuous revenue for NFT collections following their initial launch.
OpenSea’s new changes align with a growing trend in NFT marketplaces, centering their operations around trader incentives rather than collectors.
Moreover, OpenSea announced that its operator filter would allow sales on NFT marketplaces with similar policies, including the fast-rising NFT marketplace Blur, enabling creators to earn their full royalties across these platforms.
