In an ambitious move to diversify its offerings, Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, Magic Eden, has secured the acquisition of crypto trading application, Slingshot. This strategic move is aimed at expanding Magic Eden’s support to over 8 million tokens across nearly every significant blockchain, the company announced on April 9.
The management of Magic Eden emphasizes that this acquisition is a significant stride towards their goal of offering a comprehensive platform for trading all assets across all blockchain networks, bypassing the need for bridges and CEXs.
Slingshot, with a user base approaching a million, provides access to any token on 10 of the largest blockchains using a universal USDC balance. The platform is one among a group of crypto platforms striving for full-chain abstraction, thereby simplifying the process for users to acquire tokens.
Magic Eden’s CEO, Jack Lu, anticipates that the integration of Slingshot will pave the way for a transition of the 500 million users currently relying on centralized exchanges to more cryptocurrency-native, on-chain platforms.
In spite of the market downturn leading to the closure of several NFT marketplaces, Magic Eden remains optimistic. In 2024, Magic Eden generated $75 million from its NFT marketplace and it is hoped that the Slingshot acquisition will significantly boost these figures.
The acquisition comes amidst a wave of closures of NFT marketplaces such as DraftKings, GameStop, and Bybit due to declining NFT trading volumes. NFT marketplace X2Y2 also announced a shut down as it shifts focus to artificial intelligence.
According to CryptoSlam data, NFT marketplaces have witnessed $1.6 billion in NFT sales across 14 million transactions in 2025. However, the monthly sales volume has been experiencing a steady decline throughout 2025, and the current sales are not projected to reach the 2024 total of $8.9 billion, far less the highest ever total of $23.7 billion recorded in 2022.
