Law firm Burwick has advised Metaplex to revisit its fee sweep system or face the possibility of drawn-out litigation.

Burwick Law stated that Metaplex risks facing a lawsuit if it does not change its plan to move unclaimed NFT value from the resize upgrade to its DAO treasury

Law firm Burwick has advised Metaplex to revisit its fee sweep system or else face the possibility of drawn-out litigation.

In a post shared on X, formerly Twitter, on April 22, members of the legal team at crypto-focused law firm Burwick Law stated that Metaplex risks facing a lawsuit if it does not change its plan to move unclaimed NFT value from the resize upgrade to its DAO treasury instead of refunding it to NFT holders.

Earlier this year, NFT protocol Metaplex discovered a technique to reduce the onchain storage requirements for certain NFTs. By resizing their NFTs, holders on the Solana (SOL) network can access a small amount of SOL.

In October, Metaplex announced that Metaplex Token Metadata (TM) NFT holders could complete a “resize optimization” for all TM accounts by April 25. Any unclaimed SOL by the deadline will be transferred to the Metaplex DAO, although the firm did not specify how these funds will be used.

However, Burwick criticized Metaplex’s plan to direct unclaimed funds to its DAO treasury rather than returning them to NFT holders.

“Many minters never received clear notice that these lamports could be swept, let alone diverted to a treasury they do not control,” Burwick said in an open letter to Metaplex and the broader Solana community.

According to Burwick, over 54,000 SOL tokens are at risk, while on April 25, at least 7,043 SOL has been claimed, based on figures from Metaplex’s website. With current market rates, over $6.5 million remains unclaimed.

Several NFT collectors that Burwick represents have expressed “deep concerns” over the plan, and the firm also noted that the plan erodes trust and goes against the spirit of crypto.

“‘Code is law’ only works when the rules are clear and immutable. If a protocol can rewrite yesterday’s deal tomorrow, the promise of decentralised permanence rings hollow.”

If the court finds the sweep to be unjust enrichment or in violation of consumer protection laws, victims could receive restitution, Burwick warned.

As of press time, no response from Metaplex to Burwick’s post has been shared.

The crypto lawyers suggest that the unclaimed SOL could be used by the DAO for voting on airdrops, granting funds to ecosystem builders, or backing other initiatives.

Instead, they advise Metaplex to put a hold on the plan, refund the rent directly to current NFT holders, and retain a “modest” 10% for maintaining the network.

“A 90 / 10 split protects users, preserves DAO funding, and proves that the Solana ecosystem can self‑regulate—without a courtroom.”

DeFi protocols have encountered similar issues and reached a solution through this method, according to Burwick.

The lawyers add that this provides ample time for Metaplex to carry out this strategy and avoid litigation that could freeze funds.

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