Key Points:
- Operator Filter Sunset: OpenSea discontinues its Operator Filter, impacting NFT creators’ royalty enforcement strategies.
- Blur’s Market Share Surge: Blur’s influence surges, with a 75% trading volume market share, challenging OpenSea’s dominance.
- Evolving NFT Landscape: Amidst declining sales, OpenSea adapts to the changing NFT market dynamics.
As Blur’s influence continues to surge, OpenSea is reevaluating its stance on royalties, leading to shifts in strategies and heightened competition within the NFT market.
The discourse surrounding royalties took center stage in the NFT landscape throughout 2022, with OpenSea emerging as a key player in the conversation by advocating for and implementing royalty payments.
OpenSea even developed a tool designed to disable NFT marketplaces like Blur if they didn’t adhere to royalty standards. However, recent developments indicate that OpenSea might be tempering its strict approach due to the increasing impact of Blur.
OpenSea Discontinues Operator Filter
On August 17th, OpenSea announced its decision to phase out the Operator Filter, effective from August 31st. The Operator Filter, initially introduced in November 2022, allowed NFT creators to enforce royalties on their creations. Functioning as a transaction filter, it empowered creators to establish specific conditions under which they would receive royalties.
We launched our Operator Filter so creators could restrict secondary sales to web3 marketplaces that enforce creator fees.
But we relied on opt-in by the entire ecosystem, which didn’t happen. So we’re making a few changes to our approach to creator fees. 🧵⬇️
— OpenSea (@opensea) August 17, 2023
Creators of new NFT collections faced a choice upon the introduction of the Operator Filter Registry: either implement the tool, preventing their tokens from being traded on platforms not enforcing royalties, or forgo royalty enforcement for the collection on OpenSea.
Blur responded to this dynamic by integrating a publicly accessible marketplace protocol called Seaport, originally launched by OpenSea in 2022. In the midst of these strategic maneuvers and counterstrategies, Blur managed to capture a significant share of the NFT market.
Blur’s Trading Volume Parity with OpenSea
An examination of data from Dune Analytics indicated that Blur had successfully closed the trading volume gap with OpenSea. A comparison of weekly trading volumes over the past two years highlighted OpenSea’s sustained dominance for a significant period. However, the landscape shifted, with Blur now commanding a larger trading volume.
Based on the volume chart, Blur claimed an impressive 75% market share in terms of trading volume, totaling an astonishing 73.5 million over the past week. Meanwhile, the combined trading volume of OpenSea and OpenSea Pro amounted to less than 25 million.
While OpenSea still held an advantage in terms of the number of individual trades conducted, Blur’s trade count wasn’t significantly lagging behind.
Navigating the Path Forward
Furthermore, the initial fervor surrounding NFTs has considerably diminished, as evidenced by the decline in sales activity. Data from Crypto Slam revealed that sales volume had not reached the peaks observed in 2021.
Given the downturn in NFT sales, rigidly enforcing royalties could potentially impede creators from maximizing their earnings. OpenSea’s recent strategic shift might enable it to regain lost ground in its rivalry with Blur.
It’s worth noting that August marked the most significant drop in sales this year, even though certain collections experienced temporary spikes in volume. As of the current moment, the cumulative sales volume hovers around $242 million.
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