The TGE of ME token is imminent, and Magic Eden is making the leap from NFT marketplace to a one-stop cryptocurrency trading platform
Author: Xiyou, ChainCatcher
Editor: Nianqing, ChainCatcher
"The economic model of the ME token will be announced on November 18." This was the latest update revealed by Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu during a live stream on November 8. This news undoubtedly brings a long-awaited ray of hope to the crypto community, marking the imminent realization of Magic Eden's desire to issue tokens.
In the TestME application testing event for the ME token that ended on November 1, the activity attracted over 400,000 wallet addresses to actively participate in the claiming process within just three days of its launch. This event, as a crucial technical validation before the issuance of the ME token, signifies that the TGE (Token Generation Event) for the ME token is not far off.
As the issuance date of the ME token approaches, every step of Magic Eden's progress not only attracts the attention of the crypto community but also prompts people to reassess the value of the Magic Eden platform and evaluate its future development potential.
Magic Eden has transformed from an initial single NFT trading platform into a comprehensive ecosystem that integrates wallet services, NFT trading, token trading, and cross-chain bridging among many other functions. This stunning transformation is truly eye-catching.
Soon, users will be able to easily trade all types of assets across chains within the Magic Eden DApp, with its rich product features comparable to a "decentralized Binance/Coinbase."
Over 400,000 Addresses Claiming TestME Tokens, ME Token Economic Model to be Announced on November 18
As an important driving force within the Magic Eden ecosystem, the ME token has continuously attracted close attention from the crypto market since its announcement in August. Recently, Magic Eden has been very active, first launching the TestME token claiming test on October 29, and then previewing in a live stream on November 7 that the economic model of the ME token will be revealed on November 18.
TestME is a test version token carefully crafted by the ME Foundation, aimed at familiarizing users with the claiming process after the ME token goes live and providing a final technical validation opportunity for the platform. It has no token value itself and serves merely as a medium for users to become acquainted with the ME token claiming process. Through the claiming of TestME, Magic Eden can evaluate the user experience of claiming using the Magic Eden Wallet, ensuring thorough preparation for the official launch of the ME token.
On October 29, the claiming test for the TestME token was opened. Apart from users in the UK and the US, participants in the TestME token claiming must meet two specific conditions: they must have recently used a wallet on the Magic Eden platform or have had at least one transaction over $100 in the past six months; additionally, some users who have recently traded tokens on-chain were randomly selected. Eligible users only need to download the Magic Eden Wallet to participate in the claiming of TestME tokens.
On the first day of the event, the number of wallet addresses participating in the claiming quickly surpassed 250,000, and the enthusiastic participation of users propelled the Magic Eden Wallet application to rank 69 in the App Store. The TestME claiming event concluded successfully on November 1.
Although Magic Eden officials have repeatedly emphasized that the TestME token is only for technical testing and has no actual value, and have discouraged users from engaging in speculative trading, the performance of TestME in the secondary market has still been eye-catching, with active trading and prices soaring to $0.03, pushing its market cap over $11 million. As of November 11, the price of TestME on DEX was around $0.0021, while the pre-market price of ME remained around $0.48, indicating strong market interest and anticipation for the ME token issuance.
During the live stream on November 7, CEO Jack Lu conducted a comprehensive review and summary of the TestME claiming activity. He revealed that within three days of the TestME token claiming event, the number of participating wallet addresses had exceeded 400,000, and they received a wealth of valuable feedback from users, which is significant for future product optimization and enhancement, helping to identify and resolve any potential issues before the official ME token issuance.
However, the TestME claiming activity also sparked some controversy. Some users believe that Magic Eden's requirement to download its wallet application to obtain the test token is a marketing strategy for its wallet, making the process somewhat complicated.
Despite this, the TestME claiming activity concluded successfully, marking the completion of the final technical validation for the ME token launch, undoubtedly laying a solid foundation for the official issuance of Magic Eden's native token, ME.
As a utility token within the Magic Eden ecosystem, it is reported that staking functionality will be available on the first day of its launch. The ME token is not only an important tool to incentivize users and developers but will also drive the continued prosperity and development of the Magic Eden ecosystem. Jack Lu previously stated that the ME token will serve as an incentive medium to encourage users to engage with and participate in platform development, with a particular focus on the rights of long-term active users.
The ME token is developed and launched by the ME Foundation, an entity organization, and will be distributed through the Magic Eden Wallet application. Through the incentive mechanism of the ME token, it aims to attract more users, developers, and other stakeholders to actively participate in building the Magic Eden ecosystem.
In the live stream on November 7, co-founder Jack Lu officially announced that the ME Foundation will unveil the economic model of the ME token on November 18, at which time users will be able to fully understand the specific distribution of the ME token. Subsequently, the ME Foundation also confirmed this news in an official statement. This announcement undoubtedly injects new vitality and anticipation into the future development of the Magic Eden ecosystem.
Magic Eden Maintains NFT Market Leadership for Six Consecutive Months
Founded in 2021, Magic Eden was initially known as a single NFT trading platform. However, during the three-year anniversary celebration held in September, people were pleasantly surprised to find that Magic Eden successfully transitioned from a single NFT trading platform on the Solana chain to a comprehensive ecosystem operating across multiple chains.
According to the NFT market data report released by CoinGecko in September, Magic Eden's trading volume in August reached $122.47 million, with a market share of 36.7%, ranking first in the NFT trading market for the sixth consecutive month.
Magic Eden was established on September 17, 2021, by Jack Lu, Zhuoxun Yi (a former core member of dYdX), ZhuoJie Zhou, and other seasoned experts in the crypto field. Initially, it was an NFT marketplace focused on Solana, quickly attracting a large number of NFT creators and collectors due to the efficient performance and low fees of the Solana network. With its professional services, innovative features, and smooth user experience, it rapidly became the largest NFT trading market on the Solana chain, handling over 90% of NFT trading volume.
During the market peak in 2022, Magic Eden's trading volume and user activity once surpassed OpenSea, becoming a leader in the NFT space. In June of that year, it completed a $130 million Series B funding round at a valuation of $1.6 billion, bringing its total public financing to $149.4 million.
Of course, Magic Eden also experienced downturns and challenges. With the bear market in the crypto space and the cooling of the NFT market, Magic Eden faced unprecedented challenges. The collapse of FTX had a significant impact on the Solana ecosystem, causing Magic Eden's development to hit a rough patch.
Even in such adversity, Magic Eden not only did not stagnate but also demonstrated its strong resilience and innovative capabilities. It actively expanded the NFT market and implemented a multi-chain operation strategy, such as announcing a partnership with Yuga Labs to develop a new NFT trading market and expanding support for chains like Polygon to cover a wider range of digital assets.
In 2023, with the rise of Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions as a new form of NFT, Magic Eden, leveraging its strong foresight and execution, seized the opportunity once again. It quickly adjusted its strategy and actively integrated into the wave of Bitcoin NFTs.
In January, Magic Eden launched the multi-chain wallet Magic Eden Wallet, providing users with a convenient one-stop NFT asset management service across networks like Solana, Bitcoin, Polygon, and Ethereum. Following that, in March, Magic Eden launched the Bitcoin NFT market, offering comprehensive support for minting, buying, and selling Bitcoin NFTs. With the arrival of the Runes craze in April, Magic Eden quickly launched the Bitcoin Runes platform, further enriching its NFT trading ecosystem.
Driven by the hype surrounding Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes, Magic Eden's trading volume surged. In April alone, the platform achieved $486 million in NFT trading volume, with an average of 50% of Ordinals trading occurring on Magic Eden, making it the leader in Bitcoin NFT trading and once again the focus of the industry.
In August, ME Foundation director Matt Szenics disclosed business data indicating that Magic Eden has processed a total trading volume of $6 billion, accounting for over 80% of the market share in all Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes markets.
According to the latest data from the NFTPulse platform on November 11, Magic Eden captured trading fees of up to $58.39 million in the past year, accounting for about 60% of the total revenue in the NFT market, making it the highest-grossing NFT marketplace currently.
Data source: https://www.nftpulse.org/marketplaces
In a previous public interview, Jack Lu stated that by expanding into new NFT formats like Runes and Ordinals, Magic Eden has outperformed most NFT markets, achieving its best year to date. Compared to 2023, the monthly trading user growth for Magic Eden has increased by 200%, and revenue has grown by 639%.
From a Single NFT Trading Platform to a Multifunctional Ecosystem of "Wallet + NFT Trading + Token Swap + Cross-Chain"
Today, Magic Eden has surpassed the traditional NFT trading market, evolving from a single NFT trading platform into a comprehensive ecosystem that integrates NFT trading, wallet services, token swaps, and cross-chain functionalities.
While the core NFT business continues to grow steadily, Magic Eden has been constantly exploring and expanding into new business areas.
The multi-chain wallet Magic Eden Wallet, launched in January this year, not only provides users with convenient one-stop cross-chain NFT asset trading and management services but is also set to become a traffic entry point for the future Web3 world. In August, the wallet added token trading functionality, marking Magic Eden's entry into the field of fungible token trading while supporting NFT trading. Additionally, Magic Eden is considering further expanding its business into yield-generating services like staking tokens to provide users with more diversified financial services.
Magic Eden's CEO Jack Lu has publicly stated multiple times that Magic Eden's vision is to create a one-stop on-chain asset trading platform comparable to "on-chain Binance," where users can complete all types of asset trading across chains through a single platform.
In addition to supporting all kinds of NFT trading, including Ordinals and Runes, Magic Eden also offers token trading, asset cross-chain exchange, and other functionalities, covering all chains and types of assets comprehensively. It is gradually building a one-stop crypto asset trading center or on-chain aggregated DEX, encompassing diverse functions such as trading, lending, and Launchpad, aiming to become a "decentralized Binance/Coinbase."
This means that whether it's NFTs or tokens, regardless of the chain, and whatever kind of yield-generating activities (such as lending or staking) users wish to engage in, they can easily discover trading opportunities and complete all asset transactions through the Magic Eden DApp without needing to download different trading DApps and wallets for each chain.
This transformation of Magic Eden stems from a profound insight into the NFT market and a precise grasp of the trends in crypto development. As the NFT market flourishes, users' demand for diversified services such as wallets, token trading, and cross-chain exchanges is increasing. Magic Eden has keenly captured this trend and swiftly acted to launch new wallet features, supporting multiple chains and assets to provide users with a more convenient and secure trading experience.
At the same time, the expansion of services such as token trading and cross-chain exchanges further enriches the product line, building diversified revenue sources beyond NFT trading and providing more possibilities for future growth.
It is reported that currently about 20% of Magic Eden's revenue comes from token trading.
Regarding this strategic shift, Jack Lu stated that there will be no reduction in investment in NFTs; rather, the investment will be further increased. He also acknowledged that there are many uncertainties in the cryptocurrency market, and by diversifying the business across more categories and use cases, Magic Eden will become more resilient.
Through continuous strategic adjustments and innovative service optimizations, adopting a multi-chain layout and diversified product strategy, Magic Eden has carved out a unique path in the NFT market, differentiating itself from pure NFT trading platforms like OpenSea and Blur.
Currently, Magic Eden has integrated ecological assets from multiple chains, including Solana, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, and ApeChain, supporting various NFTs, tokens, and other assets for trading on its platform.
In terms of cross-chain deployment, Magic Eden officials have repeatedly stated that they will complete the integration of 10 chains by the end of this year.
In the future, Jack Lu revealed in an interview that by 2025, Magic Eden will focus on community building, promoting product internationalization, and expanding global business.
With the arrival of the ME token and the current bullish trend in the crypto market, this dual benefit is expected to drive Magic Eden towards a more prosperous and sustainable future.