Open Royalty Engines (e.g., Manifold's Royalty Registry, EIP-2981) excel at providing a universal, immutable standard for creator fees. By encoding royalty logic at the smart contract or protocol level, they aim for broad, permissionless enforcement across all marketplaces. For example, platforms like OpenSea and Blur honor these standards, creating a baseline of ~5-10% fees for major collections. This approach prioritizes decentralization and censorship-resistance, ensuring creators are paid regardless of where secondary sales occur.
LABS
Comparisons
Open Royalty Engine vs Curated Royalty Agreement
A technical analysis comparing standardized, configurable on-chain royalty systems (Open Royalty Engine) with platform-enforced, negotiated terms (Curated Royalty Agreement) for NFT marketplaces and protocol architects.
Chainscore © 2026
introduction
THE ANALYSIS
Introduction: The Royalty Enforcement Dilemma
A technical breakdown of two primary strategies for on-chain creator monetization: protocol-level enforcement versus curated marketplace agreements.
Curated Royalty Agreements (e.g., Magic Eden's Ethereum marketplace, Tensor) take a different, more pragmatic approach by forming explicit partnerships with NFT collections. This strategy involves whitelisting collections that agree to list exclusively or primarily on the platform, which then programmatically enforces royalties at the marketplace level. This results in a trade-off of centralization for guaranteed compliance and higher fee yields, as seen with Magic Eden's 100% royalty enforcement for partnered collections versus the variable compliance on open marketplaces.
The key trade-off: If your priority is maximum distribution and protocol-level guarantees for a permissionless ecosystem, an Open Royalty Engine is the foundational choice. If you prioritize immediate, near-100% enforcement rates and are willing to negotiate exclusivity for your collection, a Curated Royalty Agreement with a major marketplace provides stronger, more immediate financial certainty.
tldr-summary
Open Royalty Engine vs. Curated Royalty Agreement
TL;DR: Key Differentiators
A data-driven breakdown of the two primary on-chain royalty enforcement models. Choose based on your protocol's need for flexibility versus guaranteed revenue.
01
Open Royalty Engine (e.g., Manifold, Zora)
Protocol-agnostic flexibility: Deployable across any EVM chain (Arbitrum, Base, Optimism). This matters for multi-chain NFT projects that need a single, reusable contract standard.
10+
Supported Chains
02
Curated Royalty Agreement (e.g., OpenSea, Blur)
Platform-enforced compliance: Royalties are enforced via marketplace policy and smart contract blocklists. This matters for high-value PFP collections seeking guaranteed, on-platform revenue from secondary sales.
95%+
On-Platform Compliance
04
Curated Royalty Agreement
High-liquidity focus: Prioritizes integration with top-tier marketplaces to maximize trader volume. This matters for projects where initial sell-out and secondary liquidity are the primary KPIs, accepting some off-platform leakage.
$20B+
Cumulative Volume
HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON
Feature Comparison: Open Royalty Engine vs Curated Royalty Agreement
Direct comparison of on-chain royalty enforcement mechanisms for NFT protocols.
| Metric / Feature | Open Royalty Engine | Curated Royalty Agreement |
|---|---|---|
Enforcement Mechanism | On-chain, protocol-level | Marketplace-level opt-in |
Royalty Guarantee | ||
Default Enforcement | ||
Marketplace Flexibility | None (mandatory) | Full (optional) |
Primary Sales Royalty | 0-10% (creator-set) | 0-10% (creator-set) |
Secondary Sales Royalty | Enforced at creator rate | Enforced only if marketplace opts in |
Supported Standards | ERC-721, ERC-1155 | ERC-721, ERC-1155, ERC-2981 |
Creator Migration Path | Protocol upgrade required | Simple marketplace integration |
pros-cons-a
ARCHITECTURE COMPARISON
Open Royalty Engine vs Curated Royalty Agreement
A technical breakdown of on-chain royalty enforcement models, focusing on protocol-level guarantees versus application-layer agreements.
01
Open Royalty Engine (e.g., Manifold, Zora)
Protocol-Enforced Royalties: Royalty logic is embedded in the smart contract (ERC-721C, ERC-2981). This provides strong on-chain guarantees that fees are paid on all secondary sales, regardless of marketplace. This matters for creators who prioritize revenue predictability and protection against fee bypass.
ERC-2981
Standard
100%
Marketplace Coverage
02
Curated Agreement (e.g., SuperRare, Foundation)
Application-Layer Enforcement: Royalties are enforced via marketplace policy and legal agreements, not smart contract code. This allows for flexible, high-trust curation and complex revenue splits among collaborators. This matters for high-value 1/1 art and galleries where relationship management and bespoke terms are critical.
Custom
Contract Terms
Selective
Market Coverage
03
Open Engine: Developer Friction
Higher Integration Complexity: Marketplaces must implement specific standards (ERC-721C) or risk broken sales. This can limit liquidity if major exchanges like Blur or OpenSea delay support. This matters for protocols aiming for maximum, frictionless distribution across all platforms.
04
Curated Agreement: Scalability Limit
Manual Curation Bottleneck: The model doesn't scale to permissionless, high-volume collections (e.g., 10k PFP drops). It relies on centralized whitelisting and trust, creating a barrier for mass adoption. This matters for projects focused on community size and composability over exclusivity.
05
Choose Open Royalty Engine If...
You are launching a permissionless NFT collection (ERC-721A, ERC-1155) where creator revenue protection is non-negotiable. Ideal for:
- Generative Art platforms (Art Blocks)
- Music NFT marketplaces (Sound.xyz)
- Large-scale PFP projects
06
Choose Curated Agreement If...
You are building a high-trust, curated platform for premium digital assets where legal frameworks and relationship management are key. Ideal for:
- Digital fine art galleries
- Brand partnership exclusives
- Fractionalized blue-chip NFT vaults
pros-cons-b
Open Royalty Engine vs. Curated Royalty Agreement
Curated Royalty Agreement: Pros and Cons
A technical breakdown of on-chain royalty enforcement models. Choose based on your protocol's need for flexibility versus guaranteed creator payouts.
01
Open Royalty Engine: Flexibility
Protocol-level optionality: Marketplaces like Blur and OpenSea can choose to implement or bypass. This enables experimentation with fee structures (e.g., 0% fees for liquidity) and is preferred by high-frequency trading platforms. The EIP-2981 standard provides a baseline signal without enforcement.
02
Open Royalty Engine: Market Adoption
Wider ecosystem compatibility: As a non-restrictive standard, it faces less resistance from aggregators and marketplaces. This can lead to higher initial listing volume and liquidity. However, creator payouts become a trust-based negotiation with each platform, leading to inconsistent revenue.
03
Curated Royalty Agreement: Guaranteed Enforcement
Contract-level enforcement: Royalties are hardcoded into the NFT smart contract (e.g., via Art Blocks' engine or Manifold's Royalty Registry). This ensures creator fees are non-negotiable and immutable, protecting artists on all marketplaces. Essential for high-value art and generative projects.
04
Curated Royalty Agreement: Ecosystem Friction
Reduced marketplace liquidity: Major marketplaces may block or penalize listings with enforced fees. This can fragment liquidity and reduce secondary sales volume. Best suited for established communities (e.g., Yuga Labs collections) with strong brand loyalty that can dictate terms.
CHOOSE YOUR PRIORITY
Decision Framework: When to Choose Which
Open Royalty Engine for Architects
Verdict: Choose for maximum composability and permissionless innovation. Strengths: An open standard like EIP-2981 allows any marketplace or wallet to integrate royalties without gatekeepers. This creates a robust, decentralized ecosystem where new applications (e.g., Sudoswap, Blur) can build on top of the standard. It's future-proof and aligns with Web3 ethos, but relies on widespread adoption for enforcement. Key Metric: Integration by 1000+ dApps (OpenSea, Rarible) provides network effects.
Curated Royalty Agreement for Architects
Verdict: Choose for guaranteed enforcement and predictable revenue streams. Strengths: A curated system, like a proprietary smart contract or a whitelist used by Magic Eden on Solana, gives the protocol direct control. You can mandate fees on all secondary sales within your ecosystem, ensuring creator payouts regardless of marketplace policy shifts. This is critical for high-value IP or institutional partners requiring contractual certainty. Trade-off: Sacrifices some composability for enforceable guarantees.
verdict
THE ANALYSIS
Final Verdict and Strategic Recommendation
Choosing between a permissionless standard and a curated marketplace model depends on your protocol's core priorities: maximal creator freedom or guaranteed, high-value execution.
Open Royalty Engine excels at decentralized, permissionless innovation because it provides a standard (like EIP-2981) that any smart contract can implement. This creates a broad, composable ecosystem where creators on platforms like OpenSea, Zora, and Art Blocks can set their own terms. For example, the widespread adoption of EIP-2981 has enabled royalty payments across thousands of independent collections, fostering a creator-first web3 ethos without gatekeepers.
Curated Royalty Agreement takes a different approach by prioritizing high-fidelity execution and brand safety through a whitelisted, application-specific model. This results in a trade-off: sacrificing open participation for superior enforcement, reduced fraud, and tailored commercial terms. Platforms like SuperRare or Foundation use this model to ensure 100% royalty enforcement for their artists, leveraging their centralized curation to attract premium collectors and guarantee payment integrity where on-chain enforcement alone fails.
The key trade-off: If your priority is ecosystem growth, composability, and minimizing platform dependency, choose the Open Royalty Engine. It’s the strategic choice for infrastructure layers and general-purpose marketplaces. If you prioritize guaranteed revenue, premium branding, and controlled user experience, choose a Curated Royalty Agreement. This is optimal for high-end NFT platforms, luxury brands, or any application where trust and flawless execution outweigh the benefits of an open network.
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