Magic Eden Breaks Into Crypto Trading With Major Slingshot Acquisition

Magic Eden is shifting away from NFTs and is setting its sights on dominating the onchain token trading space.

Magic Eden, the Solana NFT marketplace, is venturing into crypto trading with the acquisition of Slingshot Finance, a mobile-centric trading app.

The move, which was reported by The Information and confirmed by Magic Eden, marks a new chapter for the company as it expands beyond NFTs to offer a broader range of crypto services.

Slingshot is known for its sleek user experience and multi-chain capabilities, allowing users to trade tokens across different blockchains seamlessly. The app supports millions of tokens and operates on more than ten chains, including Solana, Ethereum, and Bitcoin.

Slingshot’s appeal lies in its ability to simplify an otherwise messy process. Usually, traders need to select a chain, bridge tokens, pay gas fees, and manage multiple wallets when trading across chains, but Slingshot handles all of that in the background.

This focus on ease of use aligns perfectly with Magic Eden’s goal of making crypto accessible to everyone, regardless of their technical background.

While NFTs remain a core part of Magic Eden’s DNA, the marketplace is constantly looking for new ways to serve the community and the broader crypto ecosystem.

As trading volume in the NFT sector has slowed down, Magic Eden is adapting by expanding into new areas.

“We still believe in the long-term potential of NFTs, especially in domains like gaming and collectibles where scarcity and digital ownership are valued,” said Jack Lu, CEO of Magic Eden.

“But we also see the need for real-world utility and services to drive the next wave of crypto adoption.”

The Slingshot deal accelerates Magic Eden’s entry into full-fledged token trading. Although the platform had already introduced cross-chain swaps, Slingshot dramatically expands those capabilities and offers a far more powerful and intuitive trading experience.

Founded in 2020, Slingshot has amassed nearly a million users and secured funding from major investors including Coinbase Ventures and Electric Capital.

Slingshot’s co-founder, Clinton Bembry, is no stranger to successful exits. His previous project, a food-delivery startup, was acquired by Coinbase in 2019.

Now, Bembry and the entire Slingshot team, which ranges from 11 to 50 people, are joining Magic Eden as part of the deal.

The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but talks began late last year and the deal was finalized in recent weeks. The integration is still in progress and will be announced to users later this year.

The acquisition was handled internally by both companies, with legal support from Cooley on Slingshot’s side and Cahill on Magic Eden’s side.

Magic Eden, which is valued at over $750 million and has raised $147 million in funding from firms like Sequoia and Paradigm, sees this as more than just a product expansion.

According to Lu, this is the company’s first serious acquisition and signals a clear ambition to go head-to-head with centralized exchanges by offering a better, fully onchain alternative.

“We are aiming to build the premier neo-centralized crypto trading platform that provides a superior experience to centralized exchanges,” said Lu.

With the Slingshot integration, Magic Eden’s evolution from an NFT hub into a full-spectrum crypto platform is officially underway.