OpenSea has introduced an on-chain tool that helps creators charge royalties for their work.

In the announcement blog post, the company explains: “On marketplaces where these fees are optional, we’ve watched the voluntary creator fee payment rate dwindle to less than 20%. And on other marketplaces, creator fees are simply not paid at all.”

The company further wrote: “For new creators entering the space, it can come as a surprise that the fees they set aren’t always enforceable […] Given our role in the ecosystem, we know it’s critical for us to take a thoughtful, principled approach to solving this problem, and to lead with solutions. It’s clear that many creators want the ability to enforce fees on-chain; and fundamentally, we believe that the choice should be theirs to make – it shouldn’t be a decision made for them by marketplaces.”

Built with the intention of putting more power into creators’ hands, its application on some older collections may prove to be challenging.

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer stated that the smart contracts of some existing collections may already allow OpenSea’s upgrade, which will enforce royalties on-chain, while other contracts will be a bigger challenge to change. 

Royalties, however, will be enforced for new collections that use the on-chain enforcement tool, starting at 12 PM ET on Tuesday, November 8.