NFT aggregator Rarible will stop collecting orders from NFT marketplaces OpenSea, LooksRare, and X2Y2 on September 30.
The move follows OpenSea’s decision last week to make royalties from NFT creators optional for new collections from September, following similar decisions by LooksRare and X2Y2 last year.
“We support royalties. We always have and always will,” Rarible said in an announcement yesterday. Rarible argued that the industry was more than producing NFTs and had the opportunity to redefine how creativity is valued and compensated, adding, “We can’t stand by if that promise is taken away.”
“We stand in solidarity with makers and artists. Therefore, we will no longer support marketplaces that neglect royalties,” added Rarible co-founder Alex Salnikov, urging other platforms to recognize and reward creators’ contributions.
NFT royalty debate
NFTs were initially touted for their potential to provide artists with ongoing income through royalties from the continued sale of their collections. But when NFT marketplace X2Y2 introduced a 0% creator royalty fee in February 2022, it sparked a debate within the community about the actual need for such royalties, with platforms like Sudoswap, Magic Eden, and LooksRare following suit later that year.
OpenSea was originally a strong supporter of creator royalties, setting it at a maximum of 10%. However, OpenSea cut royalties in February this year after tensions with competing NFT platform Blur, which collects a small 0.5% maker royalty fee.
OpenSea’s latest move to make royalties optional sees the NFT marketplace disable the OpenSea Operator Filter – a tool that enforces royalties for creators.
Opensea investor Mark Cuban said removing royalties was a “big mistake,” with Yuga Labs — the project behind NFT collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club — also rejecting the decision.
According to The Block’s data dashboard, NFT marketplaces have struggled this year, with six months of consecutive declines in trading volume. NFT royalties also recently hit their lowest volumes in two years.