Magic Eden Acquires Trading App Slingshot to Expand Beyond NFTs Amid Market Slump

NFT NFT Marketplace NFTs

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Ruholamin Haqshanas

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Ruholamin Haqshanas

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Ruholamin Haqshanas is a contributing crypto writer for CryptoNews. He is a crypto and finance journalist with over four years of experience. Ruholamin has been featured in several high-profile crypto...

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April 9, 2025

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Solana-based NFT marketplace Magic Eden has acquired crypto trading platform Slingshot, marking a strategic move to expand beyond non-fungible tokens as the broader NFT market continues to struggle.

The announcement came via an April 9 post on X, where Magic Eden emphasized its intent to become a cross-chain hub for digital asset trading.

“This is another major step toward our vision of providing the best platform to trade all assets, on all chains,” the company said.

Magic Eden Now Supports 8M+ Tokens Across Chains

With the integration of Slingshot, Magic Eden now supports over 8 million tokens across nearly every major blockchain, without relying on centralized exchanges or bridges.

Slingshot, which boasts nearly 1 million users, offers access to tokens on 10 of the largest blockchains through a universal USDC balance.

Its focus on full-chain abstraction removes the typical friction points of decentralized trading, such as wallet switching, gas fee management, and cross-chain bridging.

Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu stated that the acquisition is aimed at helping more users transition from centralized exchanges to on-chain platforms.

While Magic Eden and Slingshot will continue to operate independently, Lu indicated that deeper integration between the two platforms is expected over time.

He also noted that Magic Eden generated $75 million in revenue from its NFT marketplace in 2024 and sees Slingshot as a key component in driving further growth.

The acquisition comes amid a wave of closures in the NFT marketplace sector.

In recent months, DraftKings, GameStop, and Bybit have all shut down their NFT platforms, with Bybit citing a steep decline in trading volumes in its April 8 announcement.

X2Y2 has also revealed plans to wind down its marketplace by April 30 to pivot toward artificial intelligence.

Back in March, Starbucks, the renowned multinational coffee chain, decided to terminate its NFT rewards program.

Likewise, X, under the ownership of Elon Musk, discontinued a feature that allowed premium users to use NFT images as their profile pictures.

NFT Sales Hit $1.6B in 2025, But Monthly Volumes Continue to Decline

Despite $1.6 billion in NFT sales across 14 million transactions in 2025, monthly volumes have declined steadily throughout the year.

The current figures fall far short of the $8.9 billion recorded in 2024 and are a fraction of the $23.7 billion peak in 2022, according to CryptoSlam data.

As reported, NFT trading volumes plummeted by more than 60% in February, continuing a downward trend that began in early 2024.