Magic Eden is abandoning the multi-chain strategy that once made it the largest NFT marketplace by trading volume The platform will terminate its Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) marketplaces as early as the first week of March 2026 and gradually cease cross-chain wallet operations by April
CEO Jack Lu announced the company’s shift toward the “massive opportunity in iGaming” moving away from its core digital collectibles business Magic Eden will continue to support Solana-based assets which still account for the vast majority of its trading volume According to Dune data Solana assets contributed to a monthly trading volume of $576 million while Bitcoin-based assets only represented $121,000
From Bitcoin Ordinals to iGaming
Magic Eden was an early supporter of Bitcoin Ordinals capturing more than half of the trading volume in the emerging market during its first week in 2023 At that time Bitcoin-based assets made up about 70% of total NFT market activity The platform also expanded to EVM-compatible chains such as Polygon, Base, and Avalanche (AVAX) but this experiment is now ending
In January Lu introduced the cryptocurrency casino and sports betting platform Dicey citing a “speculation supercycle” He reaffirmed that iGaming will be the company’s top strategic focus Magic Eden also acquired the mobile trading app Slingshot Finance previously facilitating multi-chain meme coin trading
Token and Funding Update
The platform’s ME token traded at around $0.12 on CoinGecko as of Friday down 97% from its peak of $5.63 in December 2024 Magic Eden will halt its NFT buyback program and restructure the use of ME tokens in future products To date the company has raised $140 million including $130 million in a Series B round co-led by Greylock and Electric Capital in 2022 which valued the company at $1.6 billion
Important User Deadlines
Withdraw Bitcoin Ordinals, Runes, or EVM-based assets before mid-March as the wallet will switch to export-only mode
Full wallet shutdown is scheduled for early April
Magic Eden’s strategic pivot highlights the company’s decision to leave low-volume multi-chain markets behind and double down on iGaming and Solana-based assets
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