- Yuga Labs and Magic Eden are set to open a new Ethereum NFT marketplace that enforces creator royalties.
- The marketplace will utilize innovative smart contracts to ensure artists receive royalties on secondary sales.
- Yuga Labs takes a stand against platforms that do not respect creator fees, following OpenSea's controversial decision to stop enforcing them.
November 5, 2023: Yuga Labs, known for the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club, has joined forces with NFT marketplace Magic Eden to introduce a new Ethereum-based platform by year-end, promising to uphold creator royalties.
We’re thrilled to announce that we’re partnering with @yugalabs to launch a new ETH marketplace by the end of the year.
This will be the first major ETH marketplace to honor creator royalties for all ETH NFT collections.
Without creators web3 can’t exist. Here’s to supporting… https://t.co/Pqip41jJHt
— Magic Eden 🪄 (@MagicEden) November 4, 2023In defiance of the current trend where some marketplaces bypass creator fees, Magic Eden has made a contractual commitment to ensure that Yuga Labs receives a share from the resale of its NFTs.
Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu announced that their revamped Ethereum marketplace would employ innovative smart contracts, ensuring artists receive their due royalties.
Although technical specifics will be shared closer to the launch, it has been confirmed that the platform will use the ERC-721 token standard, and new NFTs minted will incorporate marketplace contract properties to enforce royalty payments.
This decision comes after recent industry shifts where some marketplaces, facing declining sales, opted to let traders avoid royalty fees, sparking a wider debate on the sustainability of such creator fees.
OpenSea, a leading player, ceased enforcing royalties in August, facing backlash from key figures like billionaire Mark Cuban and Yuga Labs themselves. The latter accused OpenSea of diminishing trust within the industry.
Yuga Labs has indicated that it will now support marketplaces that honor creators, distancing itself from OpenSea’s practices.
The partnership with Magic Eden is not exclusive, and other platforms are invited to adopt the contracts developed through this collaboration.
Daniel Alegre, CEO of Yuga Labs, stated that they felt compelled to protect content creators after seeing the neglect of secondary royalties in the market.
This resolve is supported by their involvement in the OMA3 working group, aiming to standardize royalty practices.
Magic Eden, initially launching on Solana and introducing optional royalties amid competition, is seeking redemption.
They aim to be on the “right side of history,” according to Lu, by providing a technical solution for royalty enforcement on Ethereum.
Yuga Labs hints at additional measures to incentivize the use of royalty-respecting marketplaces, suggesting benefits might be withheld from traders using platforms that neglect royalties.
However, Alegre expressed a preference for solutions that don’t burden consumers with complexity.
With this strategic move, Yuga Labs and Magic Eden are sending a clear message of their commitment to supporting the creator economy within the NFT space.
