NFT royalties serve as a crucial measure of revenue for ongoing development in the NFT ecosystem. However, recent data from Nansen reveals that NFT royalties have hit a two-year low. This decline can be attributed to factors such as the drop in the floor price of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and controversies surrounding the launch of the Azuki Elementals collection.
In April 2022, NFT royalties reached their peak, with creators earning approximately $75.7 million in a single week. Yuga Labs, the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club, has earned a total of $165.5 million in royalties across its NFT collections. Other notable earners include RTFKT with $79.9 million, Azuki with $58.2 million, Proof with $35 million, and Doodles with $27.4 million.
Nansen emphasizes the significance of NFT royalties as an indicator of a studio’s financial stability for ongoing development. Previously, OpenSea was the primary platform responsible for distributing royalty payments to NFT projects. However, this changed when Blur implemented a policy requiring a minimum of 0.5% royalties unless projects opted out or enforced different percentages.
Nansen’s data also reveals that the top 10 NFT collections have earned over $345 million in royalties, with Yuga Labs accounting for 44% of this total. Additionally, only 20 NFT projects have earned more than $10 million in royalties to date.
Overall, NFT royalties play a crucial role in funding ongoing development within the NFT ecosystem, and their decline in recent times raises concerns about the financial health of NFT projects.