Metaplex faces risk of $6.5 million litigation over unclaimed fees

Crypto law firm Burwick Law has warned that Solana-based (CRYPTO:SOL) NFT platform Metaplex could face extended litigation if it proceeds with its plan to sweep unclaimed Solana tokens into its DAO treasury instead of returning them to NFT holders.

Metaplex introduced a “resize optimisation” last year to reduce on-chain storage for certain NFTs, allowing holders to claim small amounts of SOL.

The deadline for claiming these funds was set for April 25, with unclaimed SOL slated to be transferred automatically to the Metaplex DAO treasury.

Burwick Law criticised this approach, stating that many NFT holders were not clearly informed that their unclaimed SOL could be swept and diverted to a treasury they do not control.

According to Burwick, over 54,000 SOL tokens remain unclaimed, while only 7,043 SOL have been claimed so far.

At current market prices, the unclaimed amount exceeds $6.5 million.

Burwick emphasised that the plan “erodes trust” and “violates the spirit of crypto,” adding, “‘Code is law’ only works when the rules are clear and immutable.”

The law firm suggested that affected NFT holders might be entitled to restitution if a court finds the sweep constitutes unjust enrichment or violates consumer protection laws.

Metaplex has not publicly responded to Burwick’s statements but indicated that unclaimed SOL could be used by the DAO for airdrops, grants, or other ecosystem initiatives.

Burwick recommended that Metaplex pause the sweep and instead refund rent directly to current NFT holders, while retaining a modest 10% network-maintenance fee.

The firm argued that a 90/10 split would balance user protection with DAO funding and demonstrate the Solana ecosystem’s ability to self-regulate without legal intervention.

Burwick pointed out that other DeFi protocols have resolved similar issues through such measures.

“The ball is in the DAO’s court,” Burwick said, urging Metaplex to show the world that Web3 corrects its own course and lives up to its founding principles of transparency, immutability, and fair dealing.