Magic Eden Acquires Slingshot to Expand Beyond NFTs

The world of blockchain games and NFTs just got a whole lot more interesting. Magic Eden—the NFT powerhouse known for dominating digital collectible markets—is making bold moves again. But this time, it's stepping outside the NFT playground and into a much broader arena.

In a headline-making acquisition, Magic Eden has acquired Slingshot, a popular multi-chain crypto trading app. With this move, Magic Eden is gunning for more than just NFTs—it's aiming to become the all-in-one crypto trading platform we didn’t know we needed.

Let’s break it all down.

Slingshot Acquisition: Magic Eden’s Crypto Expansion Begins

If you've been watching Magic Eden’s evolution, this news might not be too surprising. The platform has been hinting at larger ambitions for a while, especially as it expanded its presence across multiple blockchains. But this latest acquisition is the clearest sign yet: Magic Eden is no longer just about NFTs—it's here to redefine how we interact with all crypto assets.

Slingshot isn’t your average trading app. It already boasts a slick, user-friendly experience and nearly 1 million users. What makes it stand out? It lets you trade tokens across 10+ blockchains with no need for bridges or centralized exchanges (CEXs). No more bouncing between wallets, stressing over gas fees, or figuring out how to bridge tokens across chains. Just one app, one USDC balance, and access to over 5 million tokens—with Bitcoin-native tokens soon in the mix.

A Seamless Multi-Chain Trading Experience

Jack Lu, CEO and Co-Founder of Magic Eden, called the acquisition “a major step forward” in realizing the company's broader crypto vision.

"This acquisition is a major step forward in advancing the Magic Eden vision, which is to provide users worldwide with a seamless and safe way to buy and sell crypto and digital assets across all chains."

The idea is simple but powerful: users should be able to trade effortlessly across ecosystems—no bridges, no CEXs, and no friction.

Slingshot CEO Clinton Bembry echoed the sentiment:

“We are excited to join forces with Magic Eden to change the way the world trades crypto. Slingshot is pioneering the most comprehensive trading infrastructure in the industry.”

This partnership is already being described as a match made in crypto heaven—Slingshot brings top-tier trading tech, and Magic Eden brings massive reach across web3 communities.

Why This Matters in a Shifting NFT Market

Here’s the real kicker: this acquisition isn’t just about growth—it’s about survival and adaptation.

The NFT market, once red-hot, has cooled significantly. While there were still $1.6 billion in NFT sales this year, monthly volumes in 2025 have continued to decline. Big names like DraftKings, GameStop, Bybit, and X2Y2 have all either shuttered or announced plans to shut down their NFT operations.

Yet, in the middle of this contraction, Magic Eden is going full throttle.

Why? Because it’s playing the long game.

In 2024 alone, Magic Eden pulled in $75 million in NFT revenue, and it’s doubling down on infrastructure, utility, and multi-chain access instead of just collectibles. The Slingshot acquisition is about being more than an NFT marketplace—it's about becoming the crypto world’s Swiss army knife.

Bringing Web2 Ease to Web3 Users

One of the biggest barriers in blockchain is usability. Slingshot takes a major leap here.

Imagine being able to buy crypto with Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, or a credit card, and trade it immediately—without ever touching a centralized exchange. That’s what Slingshot enables, and Magic Eden wants to use this as the gateway to bring over an estimated 500 million CEX users into the decentralized world.

It’s not just about making crypto trading faster—it’s about making it normal, familiar, and intuitive for mainstream users.

Magic Eden’s Quiet Rise in Blockchain Gaming

While the spotlight often shines on its marketplace, Magic Eden has been quietly building deep roots in the blockchain gaming scene.

Here’s a snapshot of its gaming footprint:

• Supports NFTs on Solana, Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Bitcoin, making it easy for game developers to launch across ecosystems.

• Partnered with Ubisoft for Captain Laserhawk: The G.A.M.E. NFT drop.

• Launched MagicMoca with Mocaverse to fuel gaming-focused NFT projects.

• Through Magic Eden Ventures, it’s invested in 11 web3 game studios, offering them APIs, launchpads, and even cloud scaling power via Aethir.

Slingshot’s infrastructure could eventually supercharge this by allowing in-game asset trading that’s not just fast, but chain-agnostic. That’s a game-changer.

The Big Picture: All Roads Lead to Multi-Chain Everything

Magic Eden isn’t just responding to a cooling NFT market—it’s rewriting the rules entirely. By acquiring Slingshot, it’s positioning itself as the platform where NFTs, tokens, in-game assets, and digital collectibles all live side by side.

This is about breaking down the walls between chains, simplifying the user experience, and bringing us one step closer to a truly interoperable web3 future.

As Magic Eden put it on X:

“No bridges. No CEXs. This is another major step towards our vision of providing the best platform to trade all assets, on all chains.”

And in a space that’s constantly evolving, that kind of vision isn’t just bold—it might be exactly what crypto needs next.