Magic Eden Pulls Plug on Bitcoin and Ethereum for Solana

Magic Eden is shutting down support for Bitcoin and Ethereum assets as the NFT marketplace pivots exclusively toward the Solana ecosystem and a growing bet on crypto gambling. Co-founder and CEO Jack Lu revealed on Friday, February 27 that the platform will cease trading for all Ethereum-compatible and Bitcoin-based digital assets in fewer than two weeks, with the company's self-custodial wallet following suit by early April.

Magic Eden Abandons Multi-Chain Strategy

The decision effectively dismantles the multi-chain approach that once propelled Magic Eden to become the largest NFT marketplace by trading volume. Assets minted on Ethereum scaling networks such as Polygon and Base will no longer be tradeable, alongside Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes meme coins, Lu disclosed on X.

Magic Eden had been among the earliest major platforms to embrace Bitcoin-based Ordinals and Runes, outpacing most top-tier exchanges in rolling out support for the novel asset classes. The marketplace continued to dominate those sectors even as interest in Bitcoin collectibles waned over the past year.

The shift was first reported by Blockspace Media and represents one of the most significant strategic pivots in the NFT marketplace sector this year. Going forward, Magic Eden will operate solely within the Solana ecosystem, where the platform originally launched in 2021.

Why Is Magic Eden Pivoting to iGaming?

Magic Eden is betting its future on crypto gambling because leadership believes finance and entertainment are converging into a single market. Lu signaled last year that the company was expanding beyond digital collectibles when it acquired Slingshot Finance, a mobile-first crypto trading application that initially supported meme coin trading across multiple chains.

In January, Lu unveiled Dicey, a crypto casino and sportsbook he described as a vehicle to capitalize on a "speculation supercycle." The platform's closed beta has attracted roughly 200 users who have collectively wagered more than $15 million, according to Lu. On Friday, he framed the company's restructuring around what he called "the massive opportunity in iGaming."

As part of the overhaul, Magic Eden will discontinue its NFT buyback program. Lu also indicated the company plans to refine how its ME token is utilized across its suite of products, though specific details on those changes were not shared.

It is clear we're entering a new era where finance and entertainment merge.

— Jack Lu, CEO and Co-founder of Magic Eden

ME Token Plunges 97% From All-Time High

The ME token — which grants holders governance rights and rewards within the Magic Eden ecosystem — was trading at approximately $0.12 on Friday, according to CoinGecko data. That price reflects a devastating 97% decline from the token's all-time high of $5.63, which was reached shortly after its December 2024 debut.

Despite the token's steep depreciation, Magic Eden has attracted substantial venture capital throughout its history. The company has raised $140 million in total funding, according to Crunchbase. That figure includes a $130 million Series B round completed in 2022, which valued the firm at $1.6 billion and was co-led by Greylock and Electric Capital.

Trading Volume Data Underscores the Shift

On-chain data helps explain why Magic Eden chose to abandon Bitcoin and Ethereum. The marketplace generated $576 million in digital collectible trading volume last month, according to a Dune analytics dashboard. However, the vast majority of that activity occurred on Solana, with Bitcoin-based assets contributing just $121,000 over the same period — a negligible fraction of overall volume.

The disparity suggests that Magic Eden's multi-chain expansion into Bitcoin and Ethereum had yielded diminishing returns, making the cost of maintaining infrastructure for those networks increasingly difficult to justify against the company's evolving priorities.

What Happens Next for Bitcoin NFT Traders?

Bitcoin-based collectible traders will need to find alternative platforms as Magic Eden winds down its operations on that chain. Some projects are already positioning themselves to fill the gap. Taproot Wizards co-founder Udi Wertheimer stated on X earlier this month that a dedicated marketplace for the Ordinals-focused project is "coming soon."

Magic Eden's departure from Bitcoin and Ethereum marks a turning point for the broader NFT landscape. Once lauded for its aggressive multi-chain ambitions, the company is now consolidating around the network that originally fueled its rise while channeling resources into the emerging crypto gambling vertical through Dicey.