Magic Eden and Yuga Labs Launch New Ethereum NFT Marketplace

Magic Eden is teaming up with Yuga Labs to develop a new marketplace exclusively for Ethereum NFTs.

Magic Eden and Yuga Labs Launch New Ethereum NFT Marketplace
Image: Coin Academy

Magic Eden, a prominent NFT marketplace on the Solana network, is collaborating with Yuga Labs, the company behind renowned collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, to launch a new Ethereum NFT marketplace that aims to honor the rights of these artistic creations.

Their goal is to create a fair and beneficial ecosystem for content contributors. The platform is expected to launch by the end of this year, according to an announcement on November 4. Yuga Labs describes this collaboration as the "first ETH marketplace that respects copyright."

This initiative comes amid ongoing controversies in the NFT space regarding royalties, especially as some major marketplaces have cut fees or completely eliminated royalty fees. In contrast, Yuga Labs and Magic Eden are committed to protecting creators, emphasizing that "royalties are non-negotiable."

Royalty fees are a percentage of the sale price that the original NFT creator receives each time the NFT is sold or transferred to a new owner. Royalties are seen as income for creators to continue developing their digital assets and are a crucial factor in retaining existing creators and encouraging new content creators to enter the space.

Today's announcement is a significant move following Yuga Labs' decision to sever ties with OpenSea starting February 2024 due to OpenSea's shift to a royalty-free model on their platform. In recent months, the optional royalty model has led to a substantial decrease in Yuga Labs' revenue.

Meanwhile, Magic Eden, along with LookRare, X2Y2, Blur, and Sudoswap, has allowed NFT sellers to choose to include royalty fees for over a year.