Magic Eden Embraces Bitcoin's Rune Revolution, Expanding NFT Horizons

Magic Eden, a prominent cross-chain NFT marketplace, has announced its plans to support the upcoming launch of Runes, a fungible token standard on Bitcoin. The Rune protocol will launch after the next Bitcoin halving, which is expected to take place in April. Magic Eden believes that Runes will supercharge the Bitcoin ecosystem, enabling a new wave of developers and asset types on the network. The marketplace is also introducing a new fungible token called "NFT" through the Non-Fungible DAO, which will be awarded to users of selected open-source lending and minting protocols.

Magic Eden Embraces Bitcoin's Rune Revolution, Expanding Horizons in the NFT Landscape

Amidst the burgeoning excitement surrounding Bitcoin Ordinals, Magic Eden, the prominent cross-chain NFT marketplace, has announced its venture into the realm of Runes, a groundbreaking fungible token standard built on the Bitcoin blockchain. This strategic move underscores Magic Eden's commitment to fostering innovation and expanding the frontiers of the NFT market.

"Ordinals, advantages, Runes. The future of BTC is on Magic Eden," the marketplace tweeted, accompanied by a captivating teaser video that hints at the transformative potential of Runes.

The Rune protocol, scheduled to launch on Bitcoin's mainnet post-halving (anticipated on April 20), represents a pivotal moment in the evolution of the Bitcoin ecosystem. The halving event, occurring every four years, reduces the rewards received by BTC miners by half, slowing the issuance of Bitcoin and often leading to a positive impact on its price.

Runes, conceived by Casey Rodarmor, the Bitcoin developer behind the Ordinals protocol, introduces a fungible token standard that aims to enhance the efficiency of minting and trading tokens on Bitcoin. While fungible tokens have been available on Bitcoin for the past year through the experimental BRC-20 token standard built on top of Ordinals, Runes is positioned as a more streamlined and versatile solution.

"We believe Runes will turbocharge the Bitcoin ecosystem even further, unlocking a new wave of developers and asset types previously only possible on other layer-1 chains," said Z Yin, Magic Eden's co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, in an interview with Decrypt.

"We have long-term conviction in native Bitcoin activity," Yin continued. "It's a no-brainer for us to double down on this ecosystem by introducing Runes to our existing Ordinals marketplace, which has already hit $1 billion in volume in 2024 alone."

Earlier this year, Magic Eden introduced its Diamonds loyalty program across all its supported chains, including Bitcoin, Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon. The initiative rewards NFT traders with Diamonds for past and ongoing trades, although the specific benefits associated with these Diamonds are yet to be fully revealed.

Concurrently with the Diamonds program, the Non-Fungible DAO, which Magic Eden describes as being operated independently by an external team, plans to launch a fungible token called "NFT" that will be distributed to users of selected open-source trading and minting protocols. All such protocols announced to date have been created by Magic Eden.

Amidst the buzz surrounding the Diamonds launch and NFT token teases, coupled with the rising interest in Bitcoin-based assets fueled by the leading cryptocurrency's recent surge to all-time highs, Magic Eden has swiftly established itself as a frontrunner in the overall NFT market by trading volume.

Decrypt reported in early March that Bitcoin Ordinals had propelled Magic Eden to the top of the pack, capturing a 38% share of the total NFT market volume over a 24-hour period, according to public blockchain data curated by analytics platform Tiexo.

That lead has only widened since then. Over the past 24 hours, Tiexo reports that Magic Eden accounts for approximately 52% of total trading volume across chains, with approximately $35.6 million worth of volume—and Bitcoin Ordinals trades represent around 69% of that tally.

Thursday's much-hyped launch of the Ink project on Bitcoin Ordinals appears to constitute a significant portion of that volume, with $18.8 million worth of transaction volume over the past 24 hours, according to the marketplace's data.

Over the past seven days, Magic Eden has maintained its dominance, although the Ethereum-centric marketplace Blur has narrowed the gap during that span. Magic Eden holds approximately 35.7% market share over that timeframe, with Blur trailing at around 32%. Tensor, which has largely been Magic Eden's biggest rival on Solana and is set to debut its own TNSR token soon, has captured around 7.5% total market share over the past week.

Magic Eden's embrace of Runes and its continued focus on innovation position the marketplace as a driving force in the evolution of the NFT landscape. As the Bitcoin ecosystem expands and new possibilities emerge, Magic Eden stands poised to remain at the forefront, connecting creators, collectors, and innovators across the decentralized world.