OpenSea Disable Operator Filters, NFT Creators Can't Get Royalties Anymore?

OpenSea NFT platform. (Photo; Doc. OpenSea)

JAKARTA - The leading Non-Fungible Token (NFT) trading platform, OpenSea, has announced its plans to disable a royalty enforcement tool known as the Operator Filter.

The changes were announced via a recent blog post, aimed at stopping NFT creators from receiving additional royalties from secondary trade, namely when their work was moved to new hands after early sales.

OpenSea founder and CEO Devin Finzer explained that this change will take effect from August 31. This means that creators can no longer include the NFT market on blacklists that do not impose royalties.

The Operator Filter feature was first introduced in November 2022, allowing artists to set additional cost percentages that buyers must pay in every secondary NFT transaction. However, this tool does not get the expected success, facing a number of challenges within the NFT ecosystem.

Some NFT markets even avoid the Operator Filter feature, such as Blur, Dew, and LooksRare, to avoid OpenSea blacklisting and avoid creator fees. Some creators also feel limited by this tool, stating that it reduces their control over where their collection is sold.

Although OpenSea will discontinue Filter Operators, some collections operating outside the Ethereum blockchain are still using them. Interestingly, the use of Operator Filters will continue to guarantee creator fees until February 29, 2024, even if several other platforms have made creator fees optional.

CEO Devin Finzer insists that the purpose of this change is not to cost creators. Creators and artists still have the right to royalties for their work. However, he argues that the existing royalty enforcement approach is not an effective and fair solution.

"To be clear, the cost of creators will not be lost - only enforcement is ineffective and unilateral," said Finzer.

With the deactivation of the Operator Filter which will take place in the next two weeks, the NFT market paradigm is likely to change. Creators can no longer impose royalties, but they can still show the desired amount as an optional fee. Buyers also have the option to pay extra fees or not in NFT transactions.