Magic Eden NFT Marketplace to Support Alternative Royalties Model

Magic Eden, the top cross-chain NFT platform, today declared that it would launch a Creator Monetization Hackathon with a maximum investment of $1 million to support the creation of pro-NFT royalties and alternative monetization tools on Solana in response to the growing trend away from static creator royalties.

Magic Eden is prepared to provide resources that will help creators deal with a market that is changing quickly since it is a platform dedicated to equally serve both collectors and artists. Magic Eden will encourage the development of fresh creative business models and work with partners to create tools that enable a resilient creator ecosystem with the $1M Creator Monetization Hackathon.

The possibility of receiving monthly royalties from future sales has enticed hundreds of great creatives to enter the web3 sector as NFT producers. Because royalties are not enforced on the blockchain and are, in reality, only due at the discretion of the platform and collector, customers are increasingly choosing to buy NFTs on platforms that allow them to avoid royalty payments. Magic Eden will also provide variable royalties on its platform today, allowing NFT purchasers to choose between full, half, or no royalties. The Creator Monetization Hackathon will assist to mitigate the economic effect of the transition to an optional creator royalty model, as well as incubate technologies to safeguard royalty revenue and explore alternative monetization options.

Magic Eden CEO and Co-Founder Jack Lu said:

“We’ve recently experienced seismic shifts in the NFT ecosystem. The movement away from creator royalties has been an unfortunate trend, but one that seems inevitable given that royalties are not enforceable at the protocol level. It is a trend that we are hoping can be reversed long-term. To accelerate new innovations on creator business models and royalty protecting tools, we are running a $1M Hackathon with the community to develop new creator royalties tools that will protect and support creators. We believe this initiative will help us continue to champion a creator-centric business. Our hope is that this is a temporary circumstance and that royalties return as a consistently viable business model in the future.”

Following a Series B funding round in June where Magic Eden raised $130 million to further develop its NFT platform, valued the company at $1.6 billion.