OpenSea's decision to "sunset" the Operator Filter tool leads to Yuga Labs winding down its support for the NFT marketplace.
According to Cointelegraph, Yuga Labs, the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has announced plans to wind down support for OpenSea following its decision to remove the on-chain royalty enforcement tool known as Operator Filter. Launched in November 2022, the Operator Filter enabled creators to restrict secondary NFT sales to marketplaces that enforce creator royalties.
OpenSea announced on August 17 that the tool would be sunsetted at the end of August, citing a lack of "opt-in by the entire ecosystem," platforms bypassing the tool, and pushback from creators. Yuga Labs' CEO, Daniel Alegre, subsequently shared the firm’s plan to gradually reduce its use of OpenSea's Seaport marketplace smart contract, with the aim of completing this process by February 2024.
Supporters of creator royalties in the NFT space, such as EllioTrades and Alex Becker, praised Yuga Labs' decision, while Coinbase NFT highlighted its "commitment to enforcing creator royalties." However, the topic of enforcing royalties has become increasingly divisive within the NFT community over the past year.