NFT Giants Rethink Partnerships as Royalties Dwindle

Leading NFT players, including Yuga Labs Inc., the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and the Pudgy Penguins line, are reevaluating their relationships with well-known NFT exchanges like Blur and OpenSea. According to Bloomberg reports, several companies have already suspended fresh listings or are considering doing so.

The royalties that creators earn from secondary market purchases have been drastically reduced this year by Blur and OpenSea. With the NFT market in decline, their goal is to increase transaction volumes. The data analytics company Nansen reports that royalties were just $2.4 million in September, a significant decrease from the peak of $269 million in January.

Shifting Dynamics in the NFT Market Landscape

As a preemptive measure, Yuga Labs has stopped trading its most recent NFT collection, Mara, on Blur and OpenSea. The corporation made it clear that only markets with sufficient royalty levels would be allowed to advertise its tokens. As a result of the difficult market conditions, Yuga Labs has also reported workforce reductions.

Blur first established a presence in the market by providing a competitive low-charge structure, overtaking the market leadership of OpenSea and forcing the latter to review its price practices. While OpenSea has switched to optional creator fees, Blur’s standard royalty price is currently fixed at 5%. Approximately 70% of all NFT transactions are made on these platforms in total.

As royalties decrease, many NFT enterprises are expanding into new industries like gaming or tangible items. For instance, the Pudgy Penguins collection has extended into clothing sales, bringing in $7 million this year, a significant increase from the meager $300,000 in NFT royalties.

As of right now, the top collections from Yuga Labs and Pudgy Penguins account for an astounding two-thirds of this year’s NFT trade volumes. Any prospective exit from well-known platforms would thus be expected to have a significant effect on the larger NFT sector.