Quick take:
- Magic Eden has announced its expansion to the Ethereum blockchain.
- The Solana-based NFT marketplace recently raised $130 million to expand ecosystem offerings to other blockchains.
- Magic Eden was most recently valued at $1.6 billion while OpenSea’s most recent fundraising valued the leading NFT marketplace at $13.3 billion.
Magic Eden has kickstarted its campaign to take on OpenSea. The leading Solana-based NFT marketplace has announced its expansion to the Ethereum blockchain. The community-focused NFT marketplace recently raised $130 million at a valuation of $1.6 billion. At the time, Magic Eden said some of the funds will be committed to expanding to new blockchains, including Ethereum.
On the other hand, OpenSea’s most recent fundraising valued the leading NFT marketplace at $13.3 billion. It is going to be an uphill task.
But with Magic Eden accounting for more than 90% of NFT transaction volume on Solana, and over $2 billion in total transaction value booked, this could shape out to be an interesting battle. Magic Eden COO Zhuoxun Yin told TechCrunch in June that the community-first NFT platform “had to play catch-up” when it first launched on Solana. It is well-known what happened thereafter.
Magic Eden is accelerating its Web3 campaign, which includes among other verticals, gaming, The company launched Magic Ventures last month, a unit that will be dedicated to NFT gaming investments. And last week, it teamed up with Genopets to launch the first semi-fungible tokens (SFT) marketplace with tradable in-game items.
This announcement puts things in motion for the integration of two of the largest blockchain for non-fungible tokens, creating the perfect environment for feature-rich multi-chain experiences for creators and collectors.
Magic Eden is looking to leverage the rapid growth of both blockchains witnessed in the past 18 months to create an ecosystem where NFTs’ social, cultural, and connective utilities can be shared across chains.
The platform is looking to offer multi-chain solutions for both creators and collectors. This should allow creators to launch NFT projects seamlessly whilst also gaining access to more liquidity. On the other hand, collectors will be able to discover new communities giving them access to a rich network of cultures in the Web3 space.
Magic Eden’s announcement comes four months after OpenSea revealed plans to integrate Solana NFTs into its platform. Therefore, as Magic Eden moves for a chunk of the Ethereum blockchain NFTs, OpenSea is a few months ahead with its plans for Solana NFTs.
However, Magic Eden is betting on its excellent relationship with creators on Solana to help woo ETH NFT creators.
“To extend Magic Eden’s relationship with ETH NFT creators, the platform will build on its track record of delivering best-in-class NFT launch support,” the company wrote in a press release on Tuesday.
OpenSea’s support has been criticised on multiple occasions, with hackers frequently targeting the community, and approved NFTs often flagged as experiencing “suspicious activity”.
Magic Eden said EZU, a sister collection of the popular ETH project Psychedelics Anonymous will be the first ETH project to feature on its cross-chain platform. Users will be able to mint EZU in both SOL and ETH.
Commenting on the announcement of the expansion to the Ethereum blockchain, Yin said: “Through our cross-chain Launchpad, creators will unlock a new set of audience through which they can amplify and grow their projects, as well as tap into additional sources of liquidity. Creators launching with Magic Eden will no longer have to face the difficult decision of choosing one chain over another at the cost of limiting their potential audience reach. Web3 is a place for us to share knowledge and evolve together.”
On the other hand, Jack Lu, CEO and Co-Founder of Magic Eden commented: “We believe in a collective NFT community that exists across multiple chains. Launching collector tools like the cross-chain Magic Eden Drop Calendar [a feature that gives users a holistic view of upcoming mints in the NFT ecosystem] will be the first step toward realizing that vision. The roll-out of cross-currency purchase support for SOL and ETH NFTs will build on our efforts.”
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