In a recent captivating appearance on Farokh’s Spaces show, Yuga Labs’ CEO @dalegre ignited a spark of optimism within the NFT community by shedding light on the company’s transformation. The conversation unveiled a shift that positions Yuga Labs as more than just a gaming entity; it’s now a catalyst for cultural evolution within the blockchain sphere.

Drawing parallels to the pioneering spirit of Bored Ape Yacht Club’s early days, Yuga Labs is tapping into a similar energy with a clear message: It’s time to transcend the boundaries of gaming and venture into the realm of community-driven culture.

Here's the whole show, def worth a listenhttps://t.co/4tAY6FNJXB

— wale.swoosh (@waleswoosh) August 23, 2023

The CEO emphasized that Yuga Labs isn’t merely a gaming company; it’s a community-centric entity with a profound mission—to construct an innovative cultural tapestry woven with the threads of technology and art on the blockchain canvas.

By embracing this broader role, Yuga Labs is not only supporting creators through its advocacy for royalties, but it’s also shaping an ecosystem where creators and collectors collaborate to redefine the very essence of ownership and experience in the NFT space.

Yuga Labs’ vision extends to the iconic Cryptopunks, where the company envisions not just an art-focused brand, but also potential partnerships with museums. A history book chronicling the journey of Cryptopunks is underway, symbolizing its growing significance.

As the NFT landscape evolves, Yuga Labs emerges as a driving force, redefining the concept of NFT holders. They envision holders as active participants in the creation of intrinsic value through experiences, challenging the notion of passive consumption.

This visionary transformation has galvanized the community, with many expressing their bullish sentiment and appreciation for Yuga Labs’ deep understanding of the evolving NFT ecosystem. The company’s commitment to cultural evolution through blockchain technology paints a promising picture of the NFT landscape’s future.

TLDR: Yuga Labs’ CEO @dalegre, in a recent appearance on Farokh’s Spaces show, revealed the company’s shift from a gaming focus to becoming a catalyst for cultural evolution within the NFT space. Yuga Labs is now centered around building a community-driven cultural tapestry on the blockchain canvas. This transformation is marked by support for creators, advocacy for royalties, and a vision that extends to iconic brands like Cryptopunks. The company challenges the role of NFT holders, emphasizing their active participation in creating value.

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OpenSea, a leading player in the NFT ecosystem, has recently announced significant changes to its creator fee strategy. While these changes embrace certain DeFi principles, they have also raised concerns within the NFT community, challenging the notions of digital ownership and the role of royalties in supporting artists. This critical analysis dives into the implications of OpenSea’s decision, its departure from traditional practices, and the commentary from notable figures like Mark Cuban.

We launched our Operator Filter so creators could restrict secondary sales to web3 marketplaces that enforce creator fees.

But we relied on opt-in by the entire ecosystem, which didn't happen. So we’re making a few changes to our approach to creator fees.

— OpenSea (@opensea) August 17, 2023

Unpacking OpenSea’s Strategy

OpenSea’s original vision, embodied in the Operator Filter, aimed to enforce creator fees on secondary sales across web3 platforms. However, the reliance on ecosystem-wide opt-in hindered its success, prompting OpenSea to pivot its approach to creator fees. Starting from August 31, new collections will have optional creator fees on secondary sales. This move, while aligned with some DeFi principles, contradicts the traditional concept of royalties and digital ownership.

Impact on Digital Ownership and Royalties

One of the driving forces behind the NFT revolution has been the potential for artists to earn royalties on secondary sales of their work. This concept aligns with the idea of digital ownership, where creators continue to benefit from the appreciation of their art. OpenSea’s shift to optional creator fees dilutes this principle, potentially weakening the bond between artists and collectors and raising questions about the long-term sustainability of artists within the NFT ecosystem.

Mark Cuban’s Concerns

Mark Cuban, a notable investor and figure in the tech industry, expressed his criticism of OpenSea’s move, particularly its decision to forego collecting and paying royalties. Cuban sees this as a significant misstep that undermines trust in the platform and has the potential to harm the industry as a whole. His comments highlight the tensions between the new-age DeFi approach and the more established art world practices that have fueled interest in the NFT space.

Not collecting and paying royalties on NFT sales is a HUGE mistake by @opensea. It diminished trust in the platform and hurts the industry. And I say this as an @opensea investor @DevinFinzer

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) August 18, 2023

Navigating the Future

OpenSea’s acknowledgment of the importance of choice in creator fees is not without merit. The web3 landscape offers various revenue streams beyond royalties, and flexibility is crucial for both creators and collectors. However, striking a balance between these emerging DeFi ideals and the traditional mechanisms that have driven the NFT movement’s appeal remains a challenge.

OpenSea’s shift in creator fees marks a notable departure from the established norms of digital ownership and royalties that have been pivotal to the NFT ecosystem’s growth. While the move aligns with some DeFi principles, it also raises questions about the future dynamics between artists, collectors, and platforms. As the NFT landscape continues to evolve, striking a balance between innovation and the preservation of core values will be essential to ensuring the continued success and trustworthiness of the ecosystem.

What Comes Next?

New Approach: Starting from August 31, OpenSea will be embracing a new approach to creator fees, focusing on flexibility and choice. Here’s what you can expect:

1. Sunset of Operator Filter: The Operator Filter, which aimed to restrict secondary sales to platforms enforcing creator fees, will be discontinued.
2. Optional Creator Fees: For new collections, creators will have the option to apply fees on secondary sales. This approach empowers creators to decide whether to implement creator fees based on their preferences.
3. Enhanced Visibility: OpenSea is dedicated to enhancing the visibility of creator fee settings and listings for both buyers and sellers. This ensures transparency and informed decision-making within the ecosystem.

Impact on Existing Collections: For existing collections, OpenSea’s new approach will be applied as follows:

• Collections Using Operator Filter: Preferred creator fees will be enforced on OpenSea until February 29, 2024, after which they become optional.
• Collections Not Using Operator Filter: There will be no change in the fee structure for collections that haven’t utilized the Operator Filter.

Product Enhancements: To provide a seamless experience for users, OpenSea is introducing several product updates:

• Collection Page Filter: A filter will be integrated on the collection page, allowing buyers to easily identify listings with preferred creator fees.
• Item Page Highlight: Listings with creator fees will be highlighted on the item page, offering better visibility to potential buyers.
• Seller Experience: Sellers will have an enhanced interface to either select the creator’s preferred fee or customize the creator fee, offering more control and personalization.

Learnings and Implications: OpenSea’s journey has revealed important insights:

• Opt-In Challenge: The Operator Filter’s reliance on ecosystem-wide opt-in highlighted the complexities of implementing uniform fee structures.
• Importance of Choice: Acknowledging that creator fees are significant for both collectors and creators, OpenSea’s new approach empowers individual preferences.
• Diverse Revenue Streams: OpenSea recognizes that creator fees are just one facet of the many revenue opportunities available to creators within the web3 landscape.

TL;DR: OpenSea’s transition to optional creator fees on secondary sales, departing from traditional royalty practices, raises concerns about the impact on digital ownership and artists’ sustainability. The move, influenced by DeFi ideals, is criticized by figures like Mark Cuban, who believe it could undermine trust in the platform and the NFT industry as a whole. Balancing innovation with the core values of the NFT movement remains a challenge as the ecosystem evolves.

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In the dynamic world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), recent decisions by prominent platforms Blur and OpenSea to remove royalties have sparked a contentious debate. While these changes have brought cheers from traders, they’ve also raised concerns about the long-term health of the NFT ecosystem. The crux of the argument is this: the removal of royalties, while seemingly an opportunity for traders, has inadvertently set the NFT ecosystem back by removing an essential source of liquidity for projects.

The Trader’s Windfall

From the trader’s perspective, the decision to eliminate royalties was a windfall. The removal of the customary 5% fee, among others, meant that they could flip JPEGs for a profit more easily, thereby increasing the appeal of the NFT market. However, this short-term gain for traders may lead to long-term losses for the NFT market as a whole.

The Royalty Lifeline and Its Impact

Royalties have played a pivotal role in supporting and fostering the development of NFT projects. These fees provided a steady stream of income that helped to fund continued innovation and maintain liquidity within these projects. With their removal, many projects that had their business models built around these royalties now face an uncertain future.

 Case Study: The Elementals Drop

A prime example of these challenges is the recent Elementals drop by Azuki. Many collectors expressed shock at the high mint price of 2 ETH in the dutch auction, a cost that was exacerbated by the absence of royalties. This event underscored the paradoxical behavior of collectors, who had celebrated the removal of fees but were unprepared for the subsequent increase in mint prices.

Azuki may have just fumbled their bag.

My uncensored thoughts on the Elementals mint.

(1/19) pic.twitter.com/IFZcVDdyAf

— Kermit (@crypto__kermit) June 26, 2023

The Ripples in the Artistic Realm

The effects of this change extend beyond project developers and traders, reaching into the realm of the artists themselves. While not as directly affected as project creators, artists still face the repercussions of a culture shift within the NFT community. The removal of royalties challenges the ethos of the NFT world, which has always prided itself on directly supporting creators.

The Road Ahead: Potential Outcomes and Solutions

Looking ahead, we can anticipate several potential outcomes. For one, projects may start to reserve a percentage of NFTs in their treasury. As the price of these tokens increases, the projects can then sell their reserved NFTs for profit, creating a new source of income to replace the lost royalties. However, this strategy is not without its own risks and challenges, and it remains to be seen how it will play out in the long run.

• Development of New Pricing Structures The removal of royalties could lead to the evolution of new pricing structures within the NFT market. For instance, artists and creators could start pricing their work higher to compensate for the lack of a recurring income stream. However, this could also result in a higher barrier to entry for new collectors and possibly reduce the overall trading activity.
• Implementation of Tiered Royalty Structures A possible solution could be the introduction of tiered royalty structures, where the royalty percentage varies based on the selling price of the NFT. This could ensure that creators continue to receive royalties, while not placing an excessive burden on traders dealing with lower value NFTs.
• Emergence of New Revenue Models In the absence of royalties, we might see the development of new revenue models for NFT creators. For instance, creators might start offering additional services or products related to their NFTs, such as physical goods, exclusive access to events or content, or even participation in the creative process itself.
• Platform-Specific Royalties Another solution could be for NFT platforms to introduce their own royalty systems, where a percentage of every sale on the platform is distributed among creators. This would need to be balanced carefully to ensure it doesn’t discourage trading activity, but it could offer a way to sustain creators in the absence of direct royalty payments.
• Increased Importance of Initial Sales Without royalties, the initial sale of an NFT becomes even more critical for creators. This could lead to more emphasis on launch events and marketing to maximize the revenue from the initial sale.
• Voluntary Tipping Mechanisms Platforms could introduce voluntary tipping mechanisms, where buyers have the option to give additional funds to the creator of an NFT. This could help foster a culture of direct support for artists and creators, while allowing traders to keep their margins intact.
• Increased Reliance on Third-Party Patronage Artists and creators might become more reliant on third-party patronage or sponsorships, potentially altering the dynamics of the NFT space and leading to a greater commercialization of the sector.

As we navigate this evolving landscape, it is crucial for the community, platform providers, and regulators to work together to address these issues. The health and vibrancy of the NFT ecosystem depend on finding a balance that caters to the interests of all stakeholders, from traders and collectors to artists and project creators. In conclusion, the decision by Blur and OpenSea to remove royalties, while initially hailed as a boon by traders, has had a more complex and far-reaching impact on the NFT ecosystem. It serves as a stark reminder that in the rapidly evolving world of NFTs, short-term gains can sometimes come with long-term costs. As we move forward, the challenge will be to learn from these experiences and work together to create a more sustainable and equitable NFT market.

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OpenSea, one of the largest NFT marketplaces, has announced several big changes to its platform. In a blog post, the company shared its plans to reduce its fees to 0% for a limited time, move to an optional creator earnings model, and update the operator filter to allow sales using NFT marketplaces with the same policies.

The announcement comes as there has been a massive shift in the NFT ecosystem. OpenSea has been working to defend creator earnings on all collections when others didn’t, and when the Operator Filter was introduced, it was their belief that on-chain enforcement was the best way for creators to secure their revenue stream from the ongoing resale of their work.

However, recent events have proven that OpenSea’s attempts to catalyze widespread enforcement of creator earnings are not working. Today, around 80% of total ecosystem volume does not pay full creator earnings, and the majority of volume has moved to a zero-fee environment.

As a result, OpenSea is moving to a different fee structure that reflects the needs of today’s ecosystem. They are dropping their OpenSea fee to 0% for a promotional period of time and moving to a minimum 0.5% creator earnings model, with the option for sellers to pay more. This applies to all collections that do not use on-chain enforcement, both old and new.

In addition, they are updating the operator filter to allow sales using NFT marketplaces with the same policies. This means that creators won’t have to make the false choice between receiving earnings on OpenSea or other platforms such as Blur.

This is a significant change for OpenSea and the NFT ecosystem as a whole. The company is excited to test this new model and find the right balance of incentives and motivations for all ecosystem participants – creators, collectors, and power buyers and sellers. OpenSea is committed to continuing to explore ways to reward their most loyal users.

OpenSea’s changes demonstrate the fast-paced nature of the NFT industry and the importance of staying adaptable to change. It will be interesting to see how these changes impact the market and whether other platforms will follow suit.

The Impact Of Blur

It’s important to note that OpenSea’s changes are a direct response to the market share being stolen by other NFT marketplaces, including Blur. The company’s announcement acknowledges that recent events have accelerated a shift in the NFT ecosystem, and they are adjusting their platform to reflect these changes. While it remains to be seen how successful these changes will be, it’s clear that OpenSea recognizes the need to stay competitive and adapt to the shifting landscape. This may indicate that OpenSea’s time as the dominant player in the NFT marketplace has come to an end, as other platforms gain traction and offer alternative solutions for creators and buyers. However, only time will tell how the market will evolve and which platforms will emerge as leaders in the industry.

We’re making some big changes today:
1) OpenSea fee → 0% for a limited time
2) Moving to optional creator earnings (0.5% min) for all collections without on-chain enforcement (old & new)
3) Marketplaces with the same policies will not be blocked by the operator filter

— OpenSea (@opensea) February 17, 2023

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Blur has recently emerged as a contender in the NFT marketplace scene, offering a platform that has been gaining popularity among creators and collectors. This new marketplace has been making waves due to its innovative features and community-driven approach. One of the reasons for its success is the fact that Blur has been able to address a key concern that many creators have – earning full royalties on multiple platforms. Unlike Opensea, Blur enables creators to earn full royalties everywhere, and they have even airdropped a new token to welcome creators into their community. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how Blur is shaking up the NFT marketplace industry and providing an exciting alternative to Opensea.

Blur is working to maximize royalties for these collections by increasing minimum royalties while maintaining price competitiveness. Maintaining price competitiveness is critical to prevent traders from shifting to fully zero royalty marketplaces. To that end, Blur has started enforcing a minimum royalty of 0.5% on collections without filters. The goal is to increase the minimum royalty over time.

Are you a creator looking to earn full royalties on both OpenSea and Blur? Unfortunately, OpenSea’s current royalty policy prevents collections from being able to earn royalties on both platforms simultaneously. But Blur is here to help.

Blur is a marketplace driven by the community, and they want to ensure that creators can earn full royalties everywhere. They have even airdropped $BLUR to Creators in their Season 1 airdrop to welcome them into the community. In this article, we’ll explore the options available to Creators and how Blur can enable full royalty enforcement on both OpenSea and Blur.

Blur Makes Waves with their 4 recommended outputs

You can read their blog here.

• Option 1 is to not block any platforms. New collections without filters are maximally decentralized, but at the same time, they do not have the ability to block zero or optional royalty marketplaces. OpenSea sets royalties to optional on these collections, while Blur enforces a minimum 0.5% royalties (with the seller able to opt-in to higher royalties as well).
• Option 2 is to block Blur. OpenSea does not set optional royalties when collections filter marketplaces on their blocklist, which includes Blur. However, this option disables bidding on Blur, which provides floor support, increased volume, and royalty revenue for creators. Disabling bids does not improve a creator’s ability to earn royalties. It only harms it.
• Option 3 is Blur’s recommended option – to block OpenSea. Creators should be able to earn royalties on all marketplaces that they whitelist, rather than being forced to choose. To encourage this, Blur enforces full royalties on collections that block trading on OpenSea. Creators who implement this option will be eligible to receive Season 2 rewards.
• Option 4 is to not block either platform. Creators that whitelist both OpenSea and Blur should be able to earn royalties on both platforms. Today, OpenSea automatically sets royalties to optional when they detect trading on Blur. Blur would like to encourage OpenSea to stop this policy, so that new collections can earn royalties everywhere.

Blur is working to maximize royalties for collections without filters by increasing minimum royalties while maintaining price competitiveness. They have started enforcing a minimum royalty of 0.5% on collections without filters and plan to increase the minimum royalty over time.

OpenSea’s policy benefits their business by having creators block Blur. However, Blur believes that OpenSea wants to do right by creators too and invites them to collaborate on enabling full royalties on new collections and exploring solutions for all collections, with or without filters.

So, if you’re a creator looking to earn full royalties on both OpenSea and Blur, consider implementing Blur’s recommended option of blocking OpenSea. Not only will you be able to earn royalties on both platforms, but you’ll also be eligible for Season 2 rewards. And if you’re looking to get featured on Blur, reach out to them to be featured on their homepage, Twitter, and Discord for your upcoming launches.

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