SACR\'E BLEU: Self-Assessed Creator Royalties \'Enforced by Balancing Liquidity Estimation & Utility (A formal definition and analysis of Ethereum Request for Comment ERC-7526)

Abstract

The secondary market for Ethereum non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has resulted in over $1.8bn being paid to creators in the form of a sales tax commonly called creator royalties. This was despite royalty payments being enforced by no more than social contract alone. Predictably, such an incentive structure led to zero-royalty alternatives becoming abundant and payments dwindled. A purely programmatic solution to royalty enforcement is hampered by the prevailing NFT standard, ERC-721, which is ignorant of sale values and royalty enforcement therefore relies on (potentially dishonest) third parties. We thus introduce an incentive-compatible mechanism for which there is a single rationalisable solution, in which royalties are paid in full, while maintaining full ERC-721 compatibility. The mechanism constitutes the core of ERC-7526.