Royalties earned by non-fungible token (NFT) projects have hit their lowest point in two years, according to a report by blockchain analytics firm Nansen.
Data shared with Cointelegraph highlights the trough of NFT royalties before the impact of a recent drop in the minimum price of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, as well as the controversy surrounding the launch of the Azuki Elementals collection.
April 2022 saw the peak of NFT royalties, with NFT creators earning an estimated $75.7 million in royalties in a single week. According to Nansen’s data, BAYC creators Yuga Labs have earned a total of $165.5 million in royalties on their portfolio of NFT collections.
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RTFKT has earned a total of $79.9 million in royalties from its collections, which includes CloneX. Azuki has earned $58.2 million from his zuki, Beanz, Elemental Beansa, and Elementals collections.
Proof, the studio behind Moonbirds, made $35 million in revenue, while Doodles made $27.4 million from its Doodles, Space Doodles, Genesis Box, and Dooplicato collections. Pudgy Penguins revenue stands at $8.3 million on their Pudgy Penguins, Lil Pudgys and Pudgy Rods releases.
Nansen highlights the importance of NFT royalties as an indicator of a studio’s financial foundation for continued development, given its role in generating revenue.
The OpenSea NFT marketplace had been primarily responsible for distributing royalty payments to NFT projects until 2023. The report notes that this trend changed once rival marketplace Blur implemented a policy requiring a minimum royalty of 0. 5% unless projects opted out or applied full percentages.
OpenSea gave buyers the option to pay royalties unless the projects had opted out or imposed their specific percentage:
“Currently, OpenSea and Blur are on par when it comes to royalties paid through their respective marketplaces, with more royalties being paid on Blur as business volume increases.”
Nansen’s data also reveals that the top 10 NFT collections have earned more than $345 million in royalties. Yuga Labs’ $150 million in royalties account for 44% of the top 10. Interestingly, only 20 NFT projects have earned more than $10 million in royalties to date.
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