Magic Eden is a multi-chain NFT marketplace that grew from its roots as the dominant Solana NFT platform into one of the most versatile digital collectible marketplaces in Web3. Founded in 2021 by Jack Lu, Sidney Zhang, Zhuoxun Yin, and Rex Woodbury, the company established itself as the go-to destination for Solana NFT trading before expanding to other chains.
During the Solana NFT boom, Magic Eden captured over 90% of the chain’s NFT trading volume, processing millions of transactions and hosting drops for major collections. The platform’s low fees (reflecting Solana’s cheap transactions) and user-friendly interface made it particularly popular with retail collectors who found Ethereum gas costs prohibitive.
Magic Eden made a strategic pivot by becoming one of the first major marketplaces to support Bitcoin Ordinals — NFTs inscribed directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. This bet on Bitcoin NFTs proved prescient, as the Ordinals market grew rapidly and Magic Eden captured a significant share of that emerging market. The platform now supports Ethereum, Polygon, Base, and other chains as well.
The company has raised substantial venture funding, including a Series B at a $1.6 billion valuation. The team launched the Magic Eden wallet, a cross-chain browser extension designed to simplify the experience of managing NFTs across different blockchains.
Based in San Francisco, Magic Eden also introduced Launchpad, a platform for new NFT collections to conduct their mints. The company’s willingness to quickly adopt new chains and formats — from Solana to Bitcoin to Ethereum — demonstrates an agile approach to the fast-moving NFT market that has kept it competitive even as overall NFT volumes have fluctuated.
