For weeks, leading NFT marketplace OpenSea has been grappling with backlash from creators after it made significant changes to its resale royalty policy that rocked the creative community and left many in it feeling betrayed.
The reaction followed OpenSea’s Feb. 17 announcement that it was making enforcement of resale royalties optional on a swath of NFT collections — more like a tip if buyers felt like paying for it. Imagine essentially being promised, and relying upon, an ongoing 10% royalty on every resale of your creative work, but then having that pulled away. Many creators felt that OpenSea had reneged on a fundamental tenet of their deal, and the blowback was swift.