OpenSea, the Nonfungible token marketplace, is about to sunset its on-chain royalty enforcement tool, which is Operation Filter. This tool allowed the creators to blacklist NFT marketplaces that didn’t enforce royalties. This change will be implemented on the 31st of August, according to a statement made on the 17th of August, by Devin Finzer, the founder and CEO of OpenSea.
The Filter feature was first introduced in November 2022 and was routinely described as a simple code snippet- one that would restrict the sales of NFT to only those marketplaces that enforced the creator fees. However, Finzer also claimed that the tool hadn’t had the success that they had been looking for, as it didn’t have the support which was needed from the ecosystem of NFT.
OpenSea’s Operation Filter Feature To Be Removed From 31st August
The CEO of OpenSea also claimed that other NFT marketplaces like Dew, Blur, and LooksRare had already managed to circumvent the Operation Filter by integrating the entire Seaport Process in order to bypass the blacklist set by the marketplace- something that has also avoided creator fees. Finzer continued that they had seen certain pushbacks from the creators- who saw this tool as hugely encroaching on their control over where their collections were sold. Finally, the CEO also explained that while the creator fees were useful for certain business models, it was also one of the many revenue streams that were available to creators.
Starting from the 31st of August, the feature from OpenSea will no longer be blocking any of the marketplaces. However, for any of the collections that are utilizing the tool and for existing collections on non-Ethereum blockchains, the preferred fees of the creators will be increased from 29th February 2024. Needless to say, this move is being considered by some to be a massive blow to the artists of NFT who are looking to make some passive income.
