OpenSea implements 0% fees to win over NFT user base lost to Blur
Major nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea announced a massive restructuring around lower platform fees and greater creator revenue as competing marketplaces continue to drain its once-dominant user base.
On February 18, NFT marketplace Blur surpassed OpenSea in daily Ethereum (ETH) trading volume as users – who expect greater returns on their NFT investments – look for a trading arena that works in their favor, Nansen data shows.
As a reactionary measure, OpenSea announced three major changes to win back its migrating customers. The measures include a 0% fee for a limited period, introducing optional creator revenue and leniency towards other operators.
OpenSea admitted to losing users to other “NFT marketplaces that do not fully enforce creator revenue” and the new measures are an attempt to revitalize its dominance in the space, adding:
“Recent events – including Blur’s decision to return revenue to the creator (even on filtered collections) and the false choice they are forcing creators to make between liquidity on Blur or OpenSea – prove that our efforts are not working.”
OpenSea believes it defended creator revenue on all collections, while reiterating support for Operator Filter – a feature aimed at helping creators secure revenue for the resale of their work. However, this filter proactively blocked recommendations from marketplaces that followed the same guidelines.
Blur’s daily trading volume superiority can be attributed to the new royalty policy that shows differences in royalty payment options between the platform and OpenSea. It said:
“OpenSea’s current royalty policy prevents collections from earning royalties everywhere. They have cited various reasons for this (see FAQ), but the end result is that creators are limited to earning royalties on only one platform at a time.”
In the midst of the royal war between the two marketplaces, community members highlighted the importance of competition in the industry. If it weren’t for zero-royalty marketplaces, bigger players like OpenSea would eventually increase their fee structure, which would have a negative impact on creators and collectors.
In addition, OpenSea plans to continue testing the model and identify what works best for the community and the organization. Community members speculate that OpenSea is likely to raise platform fees in the future if it manages to collect its lost customers – a predatory move often noticed in less competitive industries.
Related: eBay NFT platform KnownOrigin launches creator smart contract
YouTube’s appointment of new CEO Neal Mohan was seen as a victory for the crypto community considering Mohan’s inclination to use NFTs and Web3 as revenue streams for creators.
As Cointelegraph reported, Mohan – while serving as YouTube’s chief product officer – outlined tentative plans in February 2022 to integrate features such as Metaverse-based content experiences and content tokenization via NFTs.
