OpenSea NFT Shake up- Fee Enforcement Tool Axed
OpenSea, a place where people trade special digital items called NFTs, is stopping a tool called Operator Filter. This tool was like a rule that creators could use to stop their NFTs from being sold on certain websites that didn’t pay them properly. This change will happen on August 31, and the CEO of OpenSea, Devin Finzer, told everyone about it on August 17.
The Operator Filter started in November 2022. It was a bit of computer code that creators could use. It was made to make sure NFTs could only be sold on websites that followed the rules about paying creators their fair share.
But the CEO, Devin Finzer, said the tool didn’t work very well because not enough people supported it in the NFT community. Some websites found ways to get around the rules and not pay creators by using a trick called the Seaport Protocol.
Devin Finzer explained that OpenSea wants to focus on new ideas, like digital and physical items you can get, and to make those ideas better for everyone. He said, “We’re not getting rid of creator fees, just the old way of making sure everyone follows them.”
Some creators didn’t like the Operator Filter because they wanted to choose where their things were sold.
Starting August 31, the Operator Filter won’t make any more rules for websites. If creators already used this tool, or if their things are on blockchains other than Ethereum, they still have to follow the rules they set for payments until February 29, 2024.
OpenSea explained why the Operator Filter didn’t work very well:
Not enough people supported it, so it didn’t do what it was supposed to do.
Creators should be able to choose how much they get paid, and that’s important for the people who buy their things too.
Creator fees are just one way creators can make money in this new online world, and OpenSea wants to help them find more ways to be successful.