Blockchain gaming company Limit Break recently introduced the ERC721-C creator token standard, which promises to mark significant progress in the NFT industry by offering enforceable on-chain royalties through transfer security policies, therefore empowering creators, ensuring consistency across marketplaces, and encouraging innovation in royalty distribution.
While NFTs gained mainstream attention in 2021, the market primarily consisted of simple decentralized image ownership. However, this limited format proved insufficient for achieving widespread adoption. The absence of enforceable on-chain royalties and the shift towards “zero-royalty” or “royalty-optional trades” posed significant challenges for creators and threatened the integrity of the NFT industry. The absence of built-in NFT royalties in the core ERC721 and ERC1155 standards has resulted in inconsistent and messy implementations across marketplaces.
To unlock the full potential of NFTs, technological advancements are required. To empower creators and offer them greater control over their NFTs, after unveiling Version 1.0 of their creator-friendly programmable royalty solution in January, Limit Break has now announced the release of Version 1.1, which introduces the ERC721-C creator token standard.
This standard promises to eliminate the need for workarounds and to allow for the enforcement of on-chain royalties through transfer security policies. With ERC721-C, creators are granted the option to select their distribution platforms and restrict interactions to safe and useful contracts and applications. Therefore, creators would gain more control over their collections and can explore new forms of royalties that would benefit not only themselves but also their communities, partners, and affiliates.
Limit Break’s creator token contracts library is designed with two key objectives: backward compatibility and freedom of choice. The opt-in staking solution allows existing creators to adopt the new contracts while enabling individual collectors to decide whether to participate. The design principles underlying the library include creator flexibility, immutability, and simplicity. These principles provide developers and creators with the freedom to define the rules of their smart contracts, ensure immutability to protect users, and promote simplicity and innovation.
Specifically, this is obtained by implementing two main features in the smart contract: programmable royalties and minimum floors. Enforceable royalty sharing enables the distribution of royalties to creators, affiliates, and collectors based on custom rules. It aligns incentives within the community and adds value for NFT collectors, fostering long-term engagement. The minimum floor operator contract empowers creators to set a minimum sale price for NFTs, ensuring that their work is not undervalued. A feature that can have a profound impact on in-game economies, rarity, and value perception.
Limit Break’s creator token contracts are available on their repository, which includes ERC721-C and ERC1155-C.
