Solana Sunday: Magic Eden pivots towards NFTs on Ethereum
In early August, Magic Eden released a blog that stated their plans to begin adding the Ethereum network to their marketplace. The blog states that the original idea began as a joke, but as time progressed, they began to consider the move more seriously.
Positioned as the #1 marketplace for Solana NFTs, the move towards Ethereum NFTs is a sign that Magic Eden wants to overtake Opensea as the most popular NFT marketplace. Beyond the fight between Ethereum and Solana, this is shaping up to become a full-blown marketplace rivalry which will force both marketplaces to continuously improve their platforms.
Adding the Ethereum Network
The addition of Ethereum to the Sol-centric marketplace will offer a number of benefits that encourage Ethereum developers to use the Magic Eden launchpad to create exposure for new and upcoming collections.
According to their blog, the marketplace will add a raffle and premint tool similar to Premint which will allow teams to efficiently streamline how they market their projects using a trusted platform. A drop calendar will also be included so that Solana traders on the Magic Eden platform will have an easier time looking up new projects without exploring a network which they are less familiar with.
Is Magic Eden abandoning Solana?
So, this transition begs the question - is Magic Eden moving away from Solana for a network that has a market cap which is nearly 15 times larger? With the upcoming merge date for Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake network, price movements on Ethereum have nearly doubled since its $850 low in the beginning of July 2022.
The answer here is obviously no. Magic Eden is still operating with Solana as their primary network for business. The marketplace states that they will begin offering Solana NFTs in exchange for Ether which is an interesting new angle for interoperability.
By allowing tokens to be bought using cryptocurrencies from other chains means that it will be easier to onboard new users from the Ethereum ecosystem without the burden or hassle of moving liquidity around different wallets, exchanges, and bridges in order to convert Eth funds into Sol.
Amplifying the rivalry with Opensea
Opensea’s previous move in April to begin incorporating the solana network on their marketplace was one that many saw as a move to establish themselves as the primary marketplace for all popular NFT networks.
Magic Eden is sending a clear signal to the Opensea team that they are competitive and will fight to become the preferred marketplace. With a lineup of nearly identical products and networks, the battle for market supremacy will start to come down to which platform provides a better experience for its users.
Adding additional networks - Apecoin and Cardano
Magic Eden doesn’t plan to stop there either. They‘ve recently announced that they are also considering adding Apecoin and the Cardano network to their marketplace which would open up their line of products in a significant way.
Apecoin, as many already know, is associated with Yuga Labs and the Bored Ape Yacht Club which is the most popular and well-known NFT collection available. As the Otherside Metaverse continues to expand and develop, Apecoin will continue to grow in demand. Although Opensea already has Apecoin on their platform, it’s still an intelligent move for the company.
Cardano is also being considered by Magic Eden. While the Cardano has received a lot of attention and hype over the past year, the network has struggled to take off due to a lack of use cases. However, including it to the Magic Eden marketplace would immediately provide users with a place to spend the tokens that they have acquired.
