Solana-based Magic Eden has become the latest nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace to shift to an optional royalties model, following in the footsteps of X2Y2 in August, albeit reluctantly.
Under the optional royalties model, buyers are given the power to set the royalties they want to contribute to an NFT project, meaning there is a chance that some creators may not receive royalties when their artworks are sold.
In an Oct. 14 post, the NFT marketplace noted that the decision came after “difficult reflection and discussions with many creators” and came as the “market has been shifting towards optional creator royalties for awhile.”
The NFT marketplace shared a graph showing that the number of cumulative wallets using optional royalty marketplaces to buy or sell NFTs skyrocketed in late September.
4/ The market has been shifting towards optional creator royalties for awhile. These charts shows the cumulative wallets that have used optional royalty marketplaces to buy or sell NFTs. pic.twitter.com/wxiU800l2P
— Magic Eden (@MagicEden) October 15, 2022
However, the move has been met with split opinions from Twitter’s NFT community, with some seeing the move as positive for the long-term health of the industry, while others have labeled skipping royalties as akin to “theft.”
Well-known NFT artist Mike “Beeple” Winkleman pointed out to his 700,000 followers on Oct. 15 that while he doesn’t love what Magic Eden and others are doing, the switch from a seller’s fee to a buyer’s premium could be better for the industry long term.
while I am obviously pro-royalties and don’t love what @MagicEden and others are doing, I do think there is one key change that they hit on… switching from a sellers FEE, to a buyer’s PREMIUM. i think this is actually much more sustainable long term…
— beeple (@beeple) October 15, 2022
Another Twitter user named CaptainFuego, behind Fuego Labs, told their nearly 10,000 followers that “Royalties are…
