Magic Eden Embarks on OpenSea with Expansion to Ethereum Blockchain

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 last valued at $1.6 billion, while OpenSea’s latest fundraising valued the leading NFT marketplace at $13.3 billion.

Magic Eden has started 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 latest fundraising valued the leading NFT marketplace at $13.3 billion. It’s going to be an uphill task.

However, with Magic Eden accounting for more than 90% of the NFT transaction volume on Solana, and over $2 billion in total transaction value booked, this could shape up to be an interesting matchup. Magic Eden COO Zhuoxun Yin told TechCrunch in June that the community’s first NFT platform “had to catch up” when it first launched on Solana. It is well known what happened afterwards.

Magic Eden accelerates its Web3 campaign, which includes among other verticals, games. The company launched Magic Ventures last month, an entity 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 sets things in motion for the integration of two of the largest blockchains 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 we’ve seen over the past 18 months to create an ecosystem where NFT’s social, cultural and connectivity tools can be shared across chains.

The platform wants to offer multi-chain solutions for both creators and collectors. This should allow creators to launch NFT projects seamlessly, while gaining access to more liquidity. On the other hand, collectors will be able to discover new communities that give 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 the platform. Therefore, as Magic Eden moves for part of the Ethereum blockchain NFTs, OpenSea is a few months ahead of the plans for Solana NFTs.

However, Magic Eden is banking on its excellent relationship with the creators at Solana to help with ETH NFT creators.

“To expand Magic Eden’s relationship with ETH NFT creators, the platform will build on its record of delivering first-class NFT launch support,” the company wrote in a press release on Tuesday.

OpenSea’s support has been criticized on several occasions, with hackers often targeting the community, and authorized NFTs often flagged for experiencing “suspicious activity”.

Magic Eden said that EZU, a sister pool of the popular ETH project Psychedelics Anonymous, will be the first ETH project to appear on the 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 audiences through which they can amplify and expand their projects, as well as tap into additional sources of liquidity. Creators who launches with Magic Eden 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 develop 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 aggregator tools like the Magic Eden Drop Calendar across chains [a feature that gives users a holistic view of upcoming mints in the NFT ecosystem] will be the first step towards realizing this vision. The rollout of cross-currency buying support for SOL and ETH NFTs will build on our efforts.”

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