Yuga and OpenSea Renew Partnership to Advocate for Creator Rights

Yuga Labs, the company known for creating the renowned Bored

Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT series, has renewed its collaboration with OpenSea, designating the platform as the official NFT marketplace for its leading collections. This move represents a strategic shift, reuniting the two companies after their split in 2023 due to disagreements over royalty policies, as reported by . OpenSea’s recent transformation into OS2—a platform supporting multiple blockchains and tokens—has made it an attractive partner for Yuga Labs, providing greater liquidity, interoperability across chains, and access to a wider audience, according to the .

The renewed partnership was revealed on October 14, 2025, through Yuga Labs’ BAYC X account, highlighting their mutual commitment to digital ownership. “In the beginning, OpenSea and Yuga Labs played a key role in shaping the meaning of digital ownership for both collectors and communities. Now, this shared vision brings us together again, with OpenSea as the exclusive marketplace for BAYC, Otherside, and other Yuga collections,” the announcement stated. This decision comes after OpenSea’s evolution into a comprehensive digital asset hub, now supporting 19 different blockchains and enabling trading of both NFTs and fungible tokens.

The timing of this renewed alliance is notable, as both companies have faced challenges in recent years. OpenSea came under fire in 2023 for removing its Operator Filter—a feature that allowed creators to enforce royalties on secondary sales—which prompted Yuga Labs to consider removing its NFTs from the platform, as a

mentioned. At that point, Yuga Labs had shifted its focus to . However, OpenSea’s relaunch as OS2 in 2025 addressed many of these issues by lowering its marketplace fee to 0.5% (from 2.5%), enabling purchases across different blockchains, and introducing a more user-friendly interface, according to . These improvements, along with a renewed focus on creator royalties in OpenSea’s updated rewards system, seem to have mended the relationship, as an observed.

The BAYC community has responded positively to the news, interpreting it as evidence of OpenSea’s renewed dedication to supporting creators. “Creators collectively have enough influence to shift to platforms that honor royalties. Yuga taking the lead was the catalyst needed,” tweeted Dotta, co-founder of the Forgotten Runes NFT project, as cited by

. This perspective is shared by other NFT leaders, such as Pudgy Penguins’ Luca Netz, who suggested they may also prioritize royalty-enforcing marketplaces following Yuga’s example.

OpenSea’s standing in the market has improved amid wider changes in the NFT industry. The platform now commands 33% of the NFT market share, rebounding from a low point in early 2025 after facing stiff competition from zero-fee platforms like

. The OS2 beta, which offered early access to 49,785 Gemesis NFT holders, has played a key role in regaining user confidence and piloting new features such as XP rewards and pooled liquidity.

For Yuga Labs, this partnership supports its ongoing strategy to strengthen its position within the Web3 landscape. After being under investigation by the SEC for three years, the company recently announced the case was closed without any charges—a result they described as confirmation that “NFTs are not securities,” as reported by

. Despite BAYC’s floor price dropping 90% since 2022, Yuga remains influential, with its (APE) ecosystem and Otherside metaverse project continuing to drive participation.

The renewed partnership between Yuga Labs and OpenSea highlights the shifting landscape of the NFT sector, where innovation and creator compensation are becoming increasingly linked. As OpenSea broadens its cross-chain features and launches its $SEA token, this collaboration may indicate a larger movement of NFT projects gravitating toward platforms that balance liquidity with fair rewards for creators.