Optional Royalties: What They Are and Why They Matter in Crypto and NFTs
When you buy an NFT, the creator often gets a cut every time it’s resold—that’s a royalty, a percentage paid to the original creator on secondary sales. But not all royalties are forced. Optional royalties, a system where marketplace operators choose whether to honor creator fees have become a major point of debate in crypto. Some platforms ignore them entirely. Others enforce them. And creators? They’re left wondering if their work will ever earn them ongoing value.
This isn’t just about money—it’s about control. Before optional royalties became common, most NFTs paid out royalties automatically. But as marketplaces like OpenSea and Blur shifted strategies, they started letting buyers and sellers bypass these fees. That meant artists who built communities around their art suddenly saw their income vanish overnight. NFT marketplaces, platforms where digital assets are bought, sold, and traded now face pressure to pick sides: support creators or prioritize trading volume. Meanwhile, blockchain royalties, smart contract rules that encode payment terms directly into the asset still exist technically—but without enforcement, they’re just lines of code with no teeth.
Why does this matter to you? If you’re an artist, optional royalties mean your life’s work could be resold hundreds of times without you seeing a dime. If you’re a collector, you might be saving money now—but you’re also helping erode the ecosystem that made those NFTs valuable in the first place. Some projects have responded by locking royalties into their smart contracts, refusing to list on platforms that don’t honor them. Others are experimenting with new models: tipping systems, community subscriptions, or even off-chain agreements. But without clear standards, the market stays messy.
The posts below dig into real cases where royalties were ignored, where creators fought back, and where buyers learned the hard way that "no royalties" doesn’t mean "no consequences." You’ll find breakdowns of NFT projects that lost value after royalty changes, marketplace policy shifts that shocked users, and how some artists are adapting to survive. This isn’t theoretical—it’s happening right now, on every chain, in every collection. And if you’re involved in NFTs, you need to know how optional royalties are reshaping the game.
- By Eva van den Bergh
- /
- 10 Nov 2025
Optional vs Mandatory NFT Royalties: What Creators Need to Know
NFT royalties can give creators ongoing income, but whether they're paid depends on the marketplace. Learn how optional vs mandatory royalties impact earnings, trading, and creator rights in today's NFT market.