Magic Eden to debut code enforcing NFT royalties, allowing ‘gamification’ of collections

Solana’s biggest NFT marketplace, Magic Eden, has followed in the footsteps of OpenSea in releasing code that allows creators to enforce royalties on new NFT collections.

The move appears to be a change of heart from its previously stated stance on creator fees. Earlier in October, the marketplace announced a switch to an optional royalty model — a move that meant those buying or selling NFTs on its marketplace could choose what percentage cut of the sale is returned to the original artist.

The decision was controversial and sparked criticism from a plethora of collections. At the time, co-founder Zhuoxun “Zedd” Yin likened the decision to a case of prisoner’s dilemma.

Dubbed the Open Creator Protocol (OCP), the new tool is built on top of Solana’s SPL managed-token standard. From Dec. 2, creators launching new collections who opt into using the protocol will be able to protect their royalties and use customizable token transferability, the company said. 

The 411

OCP will allow creators to ban marketplaces that have not enforced royalties on their collections. For new collections that don’t adopt the code, royalties will remain optional on Magic Eden.

Customizable transferability could include a collection’s tokens remaining untradable before the mint closes, or limitations on tradability by time, the total number of trades, or metadata text. Creators are now able to gamify the rules of their own collection’s trading behavior, Magic Eden said. At the same time, the marketplace is rolling out bulk transfers on the platform — so collectors can move their NFTs freely for collections using the Open Creator Protocol. 

The code will enable a dynamic feature, which specifies a relationship between an NFT’s sale price and royalty amount via a linear price curve. This will potentially reduce the nominal value of royalties for buyers who pay a higher price for the NFT.

“The Solana community has been waiting for solutions to NFT royalties,” Jack Lu, CEO and co-founder of Magic Eden said in a statement. “We have been in active conversations with multiple ecosystem partners to identify solutions for creators in a timely manner.” 

On launch day, there will be a free mint, which will supply a couple of thousand gift boxes — some of which will contain prizes that include a free MacBook Air laptop, whitelist access to Tomorrowland’s December mint (The Symbol of Love and Unity), access to Genopet’s game, and free NFTs from Degen Trash Panda and Liberty Square. 

The context

As the debate on creator remuneration in web3 has reached a fever pitch, Magic Eden follows marketplaces such as OpenSea in attempting to find ways to enforce creator royalties on-chain. The code in OpenSea’s smart contract restricts NFT sales to marketplaces that enforce creator fees. In the coming months, the company will produce additional tools serving a similar purpose and solicit community feedback on the developments. 

Meanwhile, other marketplaces have moved to different models. Stepn’s new NFT marketplace Mooar launched with a subscription-based service for trading. 

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