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Why did Rarible stop adding OpenSea, LooksRare and X2Y2 orders?

Rarible, the NFT marketplace aggregator that calls itself "the place where pop culture meets the crypto economy", today announced a radical move: it will stop aggregating orders from OpenSea, LooksRare and X2Y2, three of the most popular platforms in the NFT ecosystem.

The reason behind this decision is the lack of respect for creators' royalties, i.e. the percentage that artists and collectors receive every time one of their works is sold on the secondary market.

In a statement posted on X, Rarible co-founder Alex Salnikov expressed his support for creators and his vision of Web3 as a space for empowerment and valuing creativity.

Web3 offers an underlying promise of hope, especially for artists and creators. More than just minting NFTs, this space is about redefining the paradigm in which creativity is valued and compensatedSalnikov said.

This move follows the recent decision by OpenSea, the undisputed leader in the NFT market, to discontinue its royalty enforcement tool called OpenSea Operator Filter on August 31. Thereafter, the platform will move to optional creator fees, meaning that creators will be able to choose whether or not to charge royalties for their works.

OpenSea introduced the operator filter in November last year, amid heated discussions about creator royalties. OpenSea believed that the effectiveness of the operator filter depended on getting buy-in from all markets in the ecosystem, a goal that remained unmet.

Since its introduction, we have seen several marketplaces and web3 aggregators (including Blur, Dew and LooksRare) circumvent the operator filter to avoid applying creator fees on their platformsexplained Devin Finzer:link, co-founder and CEO of OpenSea.

After the operator filter was integrated into OpenSea, NFT The X2Y2 marketplace followed suit by requiring royalties for all collections. However, it appears that X2Y2 has reversed this stance, as Rarible will stop aggregating orders from the platform.

LooksRare, another NFT The marketplace that Rarible called out, offers royalty-free trading.

We stand in solidarity with creators and artists. That's why we will no longer support marketplaces that neglect royalties"Salnikov said.

While OpenSea said it would end the unilateral application of creator royalties, existing collections, including those on non-Ethereum blockchains that currently use the Operator Filter, will have their designated creator fees applied on OpenSea until Feb. 29, 2024.

Rarible's stance could be interpreted as a marketing ploy aimed at generating interest in the platform. This is further reinforced by the fact that Rarible introduced a free Open Edition mint on Polygon called "R is for Royalties" just one day after OpenSea updated its creator fee policy.

According to data from Dune Analytics, OpenSea continues to maintain its position as the NFT market leader in terms of volume on both Ethereum and Polygon.

Although Blur, another platform that ignores creator royalties, surpassed OpenSea's weekly volume from December 2022 to July this year, it appears that the company has successfully re-established its dominance in the market.

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