OpenSea to suspend Operator Filter as Blur’s ascendency gains momentum

• OpenSea to sunset Operator Filter by 31 August.
• Blur continues to dominate trade volume.

The discussion about royalties was a central topic in the NFT realm in 2022. OpenSea was particularly prominent in this debate, as they strongly advocated for and implemented royalty payments.

It even created a tool that could prevent NFT marketplaces like Blur from functioning if they didn’t uphold royalty standards. Nevertheless, recent updates suggested that OpenSea might be toning down its strict approach as Blur’s influence continues to rise unabated.

OpenSea discontinues blacklist tool

On 17 August, OpenSea announced that it would “sunset” its Operator Filter starting 31 August. The Operator Filter was a tool for NFT creators to ensure royalties on their creations. Functioning as a transaction filter, it allowed creators to set specific conditions under which they would receive royalties.

Starting Aug 31, we’ll:
– Sunset the OpenSea Operator Filter
– Move to optional creator fees on all secondary sales for new collections
– Improve visibility of creator fee settings and listings on buyer & seller side

More below:

— OpenSea (@opensea) August 17, 2023

OpenSea introduced the Operator Filter Registry in November 2022. Its launch presented new NFT collection creators with a choice: either implement the tool, which prevented their tokens from being traded on non-royalty-enforcing marketplaces, or OpenSea wouldn’t enforce royalties for the collection on its platform.

In response to this dynamic, Blur incorporated a freely accessible marketplace protocol called Seaport, a platform originally launched by OpenSea in 2022. Amidst these strategic moves and counterstrategies, Blur steadily captured a significant share of the NFT market.

Blur’s volume catches up with OpenSea’s

Analyzing data from Dune Analytics revealed that Blur had successfully caught up to OpenSea regarding trading volume. A comparison of weekly trading volumes over the past two years illustrated that OpenSea maintained a dominant share of the trading volume for a considerable duration. However, the landscape shifted, with Blur commanding a higher trading volume.

Source: DuneAnalytics

According to the volume chart, Blur secured a remarkable 75% market share in terms of trading volume, totaling an impressive 73.5 million, in the past week. On the other hand, the combined trading volume of OpenSea and OpenSea Pro amounted to less than 25 million.

Notably, OpenSea retained an advantage in the number of individual trades conducted. Nonetheless, Blur’s trade count was not significantly trailing behind.

Where to go from here?

Moreover, the once-thriving excitement surrounding NFTs has considerably waned, as evidenced by the decline in sales activity. According to data from Crypto Slam, the sales volume has failed to reach the peaks observed in 2021.

Notably, August marked the most significant drop this year, even though certain collections experienced temporary surges in volume. As of the present moment, the cumulative sales volume hovered around $242 million.

Source: CryptoSlam

Given the downturn in NFT sales, enforcing royalties could potentially hinder creators from optimizing their earnings. OpenSea’s recent strategic maneuver might allow it to regain lost ground in its competition against Blur.