Magic Eden Pulls Plug on Bitcoin and Ethereum Support, Doubles Down on Solana

Magic Eden co-founder and CEO Jack Lu revealed on Friday that the NFT market and token trading platform is ending assistance for Ethereum– suitable and Bitcoin– based properties.

In less than 2 weeks, Magic Eden users will no longer have the ability to trade properties connected with the networks on its platform, Lu stated on X. That consists of properties minted on Ethereum scaling networks like Polygon and Base, in addition to Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes meme coins.

Magic Eden’s self-custodial wallet will see comparable modifications, Lu stated, with strategies to no longer assistance the properties at the start of April. He stated the market will continue to support those within Solana‘s community, where the NFT market debuted in 2021.

The relocation, which was initially reported by Blockspace Media, marks a substantial shift in Magic Eden’s method to user adoption. The business had actually formerly ended up being the biggest NFT market by trading volume by pioneering a multi-chain method, while cornering the once-hot market for Bitcoin-based Ordinals years earlier.

Magic Eden signified in 2015 that it was constructing beyond the ever-cooling market for digital antiques by getting Slingshot Financing, a mobile-first crypto trading application. At the time, efforts to get into the marketplace for meme coin trading were poised throughout numerous chains.

In January, Lu revealed Dicey, stating that the crypto gambling establishment and sportsbook would place the business to take advantage of a “speculation supercycle.” On Friday, Lu stated that the business is continuing to orient itself around “the enormous chance in iGaming.”

As part of the shift, Lu stated that the business will no longer perform NFT buybacks. On the other hand, the company will look for to improve how its ME token is utilized throughout items, Lu stated.

Magic Eden’s ME token, which can be utilized to make benefits and take part in the job’s governance, altered hands around 12 cents on Friday, according to CoinGecko The token’s worth has actually plunged 97% from a peak of $5.63 after its launching in December 2024.

Considering that its launching, Magic Eden has actually raised $140 million in overall financing, according to Crunchbase That consists of a $130 million Series B financing round in 2022, which valued the company at a massive $1.6 billion, and was co-led by equity capital companies Greylock and Electric Capital.

Magic Eden was amongst earliest adopters of Ordinals and Runes, racing to support the properties that look like NFTs and meme coins on Bitcoin before a lot of top-tier exchanges. The business continued to strengthen its lead with Ordinals and Runes, even as those markets cooled.

Last month, Magic Eden created $576 million in trading volume throughout digital antiques, according to a Dune control panel Although that activity was primarily focused around NFTs on Solana, $121,000 in trading volume originated from Bitcoin-based properties over the duration.

It appears that some tasks are prepared to use up the mantle as far as Bitcoin-based properties go. Taproots Wizards co-founder Udi Wertheimer stated on X previously this month that a devoted market for the Ordinals-focused job is “coming quickly.”