Magic Eden, a prominent marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on the Solana blockchain, has strategically acquired Slingshot, a crypto trading app. This move broadens Magic Eden’s reach, enabling it to support more than eight million tokens across virtually all major blockchains. This development aligns with its vision of providing a platform that supports trading all assets, across all blockchains, without the need for bridges or centralized exchanges (CEXs).
Boasting almost one million users, Slingshot allows access to any token across ten of the largest blockchains using a universal USDC. The platform aims to simplify the user experience by eliminating the need for intricate procedures. Linking Magic Eden and Slingshot is expected to nudge the substantial number of centralized exchange users towards more crypto-native, onchain platforms, as envisaged by Magic Eden CEO, Jack Lu.
Although Magic Eden and Slingshot will continue as independent entities, Lu anticipates increasing connectivity between them over time. Even as the NFT market experiences a slump, with some marketplaces closing down, Magic Eden made a whopping $75 million from its NFT marketplace in 2024. Lu believes that incorporating Slingshot will fuel those numbers further.
The quest for expansion happens in a bleak NFT market backdrop, with notable entities such as DraftKings, GameStop, Bybit, and X2Y2 closing their NFT marketplaces. Data from CryptoSlam reveals NFT marketplaces have seen $1.6 billion in sales across 14 million transactions in 2025. However, this figure far lags behind the $8.9 billion total in 2024 and the record $23.7 billion in 2022.