From NFT Marketplace to Universal Trading Hub
Magic Eden, once known primarily as Solana’s leading NFT marketplace, is expanding its ambitions well beyond non-fungible tokens. On April 9, the company announced its acquisition of Slingshot, a crypto trading app that enables users to trade any token across 10 major blockchains with a universal USDC balance.
The move signals Magic Eden’s transition into a multi-chain trading platform, as it looks to differentiate itself from competitors amid a declining NFT market and a broader industry shift toward full-chain abstraction.
“No bridges. No CEXs. This is another major step towards our vision of providing the best platform to trade all assets, on all chains,” the company said on X.
We just acquired @SlingshotCrypto!
8M+ tokens. Every chain (Bitcoin soon). No bridges. No CEXs. This is another major step towards our vision of providing the best platform to trade all assets, on all chains.
Oh, and Emmy likes green. pic.twitter.com/QmALplzSzB
— Magic Eden 🪄 (@MagicEden) April 9, 2025
With this acquisition, Magic Eden now supports trading for over 8 million tokens across virtually every major blockchain network.
Slingshot Brings Seamless Multi-Chain Access
Founded as a lightweight, gas-fee-agnostic trading solution, Slingshot has accumulated nearly 1 million users by offering seamless, abstracted access to the crypto ecosystem. The app allows users to interact across blockchains without worrying about wallet setup, gas fees, bridges, or trust assumptions.
This aligns with a broader industry vision where chain-specific barriers are removed, and user experience is prioritized above infrastructure choices. Slingshot aims to function as the “universal crypto interface”—a role Magic Eden now appears eager to embrace and integrate.
“There are 500 million users still relying on centralized exchanges,” said Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu.
“We believe onchain platforms like ours can offer a better, faster, more secure experience.”
NFT Marketplaces Shutter as Trading Volume Dries Up
The Slingshot acquisition comes at a time when many NFT platforms are folding amid shrinking volumes and user fatigue. Just this year:
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Bybit, DraftKings, and GameStop all shuttered their NFT marketplaces.
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X2Y2 announced it would close its doors by April 30, shifting its focus to AI.
According to CryptoSlam, NFT sales have reached $1.6 billion across 14 million transactions so far in 2025. However, monthly volumes have declined every month, and this year’s pace falls well short of the $8.9 billion total in 2024, let alone the $23.7 billion peak in 2022.
In this environment, Magic Eden’s pivot appears not just strategic—but necessary. CEO Jack Lu confirmed that the firm earned $75 million from its NFT marketplace in 2024, and that the Slingshot integration could help accelerate growth in new verticals.
Final Thoughts: From NFT Darling to Onchain DeFi Challenger
Magic Eden’s acquisition of Slingshot marks a significant evolution in how NFT-native companies are adapting to the broader crypto landscape. What was once a platform for trading digital collectibles is now aiming to become a unified, onchain trading portal, competing not only with other NFT marketplaces but with centralized exchanges themselves.
While Lu says Magic Eden and Slingshot will operate independently for now, he hinted at “increasing connectivity” over time—a possible roadmap toward a crypto super app that blends NFTs, tokens, and cross-chain functionality into a single user interface.
In an era where crypto UX is finally being taken seriously, Magic Eden’s move could position it at the forefront of the next wave of multi-chain user adoption—if it can deliver on the promise of frictionless, universal access.
