Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have quickly become a trending topic in the industry. While most NFTs came from the Ethereum blockchain, things changed in September 2021 when Magic Eden was launched.
This Solana-based NFT marketplace is a new-generation NFT trading platform built outside the Ethereum ecosystem. In the following guide, we will learn the background history behind the creation of Magic Eden and what makes it stand out among the rest.
What is Magic Eden?
Launched in September 2021, Magic Eden is a shiny new P2P NFT marketplace built on the Solana blockchain. The platform was initially intended to become the home base for non-fungible token collections based on SOL. Today, however, it’s so much more.
With its low fees, user-friendly layout, and great utility, Magic Eden is now among the largest NFT marketplaces in the industry (the platform’s all-time trading volume has reached $1.76B at the time of writing).
How Magic Eden was created
The platform was founded by four friends - Sidney Zhang, Jack Lu, Zhuoxun Yin, and Zhuojie Zhou - all of them with professional experience in development and product management.
In March 2022, Magic Eden managed to raise $27 million in a Series A funding round, followed by $130 million raised in July 2022. This brought the evaluation of the market to an overwhelming $1.6 billion.
In August, Magic Eden expanded from Solana to Ethereum NFTs, the move being “very natural” for the platform, according to CEO Jack Lu.
In his interview, Magic Eden’s co-founder pointed out how this was the initial plan from very the beginning. Ethereum, being the largest ecosystem in terms of trading volume, has many things that the marketplace team has “long admired” and wanted to implement into their fast-growing successful project.
Now, let’s talk about why investors are so adamant about supporting Magic Eden and what pros and cons users could expect from this platform.
Magic Eden key features
Low transaction costs
The Solana-based NFT marketplace charges a 2% fee on transactions, which is much lower than most competitors (for instance, OpenSea charges a 2.5% fee). In addition, there are no listing and offer fees. Royalties are set by each creator individually.
Easy-to-use design
What Magic Eden’s CEO team has highlighted multiple times is the platform’s approach to providing user-friendly features, like the Launchpad pool designed to assist creators when minting NFTs. What’s more, the NFT marketplace regularly evaluates its members’ feedback to improve the working mechanisms.
Wide selection of NFT collections
Magic Eden offers some of the most talked-about NFTs in the industry. The Popular Collections feature helps to show which non-fungible tokens are being purchased the most anytime from the last 5 minutes to the last 30 days.
The Launchpad also works to eliminate the unnecessary clutter of copied NFT collections.
Eden Games
Magic Eden has launched [over 35 games] within its platform. According to the information provided on the official website, “90% of NFT gaming secondary volume comes from Magic Eden”.
The list of games includes Everseed, DeFi Pirates, Mini Royale: Nations, Skate X, etc. Besides, the Launchpad provides top-tier user support and greater exposure for participants, etc.
Watch this video to learn more about popular Eden Games:
Top 5 Crypto & NFT Games on Solana
How to use Magic Eden
Magic Eden is utilized by creators and collectors of non-fungible tokens. Not only does the platform offer some of the most sought-after collections for sale, but it also helps creators build and launch NFTs - thanks to its Launchpad feature, which makes the process much more simple and self-explanatory.
To kick off your Magic Eden journey, you will first need to connect and top up your Solana-compatible wallet (e.g. Trust Wallet, Exodus Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, Phantom, etc.) with SOL tokens - the amount depends on how much you are willing to spend on the platform.
N.B. Now you can also choose to connect an Ethereum-compatible wallet with Magic Eden. The list includes MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Coinbase.
Create an account and select the collection you want to bid on.
N.B. This GetBlock’s guide will help you create your first NFT collection
FAQ
What blockchains does the Magic Eden platform support?
The platform is built on the Solana blockchain. Starting in August 2022, the NFT marketplace also supports Ethereum.
Can fiat currency be used to purchase NFTs on Magic Eden?
Yes, users can purchase NFTs with their debit or credit cards through Moonpay.
How many users does Magic Eden have?
The platform states that it currently has 22 million unique monthly visitors and 100,000+ daily wallet connections.
What fees does Magic Eden charge?
The platform charges a 2% fee on transactions and a royalty fee, which is set by NFT creators. The marketplace does not charge any listing and offer fees.
What is Magic Eden token?
The NFT marketplace works with Solana’s SOL. It has recently added Ethereum’s ETH as well.
Magic Eden vs OpenSea
While both of these NFT marketplaces have pros and cons, currently Magic Eden remains the leading platform for trading SOL-based NFTs, and OpenSea is prevailing in Ethereum NFT trading. The main difference stands in blockchain utility.
Magic Eden: things to improve
As many experts would agree, the platform has several great features, which helped massively in securing its top-quality reputation. It does, however, have a few downsides noted by users:
- Magic Eden’s mobile app, available for iOS and Android devices, can only be utilized for browsing. Users are not able to create or even purchase NFTs via the app;
- As it is an open platform, it is quite easy for users to stumble upon copied NFT content;
- Some users take notice of the limited transparency of the NFT marketplace, as it utilizes closed-source software with no possibility of being audited by the platform’s community members.
Final thoughts
As the NFT industry continues to expand and evolve, there is a growing demand for multi-chain NFT marketplaces. Offering top-tier functionality, Magic Eden is a promising project with great potential.
With the recent addition of Ethereum-compatible wallets, Magic Eden has gained even more market exposure. The platform’s CEO Jack Lu highlights: “There are amazing NFT communities, NFT collections, and NFT creators and culture in the Ethereum ecosystem.”
NFTs bring an extensive amount of new possibilities to the industry, therefore it is highly likely that NFT marketplaces are here to stay. With a user-oriented approach to NFT trading, Magic Eden could quickly grow into a much bigger platform, as the idea of longevity is of high importance to the team.
If you want to integrate Solana and/or Ethereum endpoints into your projects, please log in to your GetBlock’s account or refer to GetBlock’s customer support page.
