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Magic Eden NFT Marketplace: The 101 on Solana’s NFT Hotspot
Eric Esposito
Apr 11th, 2023
.6 min read
Magic Eden is one of the most impressive start-up companies in crypto history. Less than a year after its launch, the Solana NFT market grew to a $1.6 billion market cap and frequently surpassed OpenSea’s daily trading volume.
And it doesn’t stop there. The team behind Magic Eden continues to introduce innovative integrations for NFT creators and collectors, including multiple supported blockchains, an exclusive Creator’s Launchpad, and a Web3 gaming portal.
Anyone interested in NFT trading can’t ignore what’s happening on Magic Eden. So it's time to find out what it is, how it works, and tips for exploring this NFT marketplace.
What is Magic Eden?
Launched in the fall of 2021, Magic Eden is an NFT marketplace initially only available on the Solana blockchain. The co-creators behind this secondary NFT market include Sidney Zhang, Jack Lu, Zhuoxun Yin, and Zhuojie Zhou, all of whom have prior experience at major companies like Uber Eats, Coinbase, and Facebook.
Thanks to the Solana blockchain’s fast speeds and low gas fees, more NFT collectors turned to Magic Eden for a cheaper buying experience. Magic Eden also distinguished itself from the competition with its low flat fee, integrated rarity index, and distinctive NFT minting platform. As Solana projects like Okay Bears, DeGods, and Solana Monkey Business exploded in popularity, Magic Eden became an even hotter website in the crypto community.
Magic Eden capitalized on its early success by introducing dozens of new features to grow its user base. In addition to NFT trading, the team behind Magic Eden introduced a “Games” portal for fans of play-to-earn, metaverse, and move-to-earn titles. Magic Eden also has an active Discord server and a selective Creator’s Launchpad to help NFT artists get the maximum exposure in Web3.
What makes Magic Eden different?
At the start, Magic Eden was unique for its low fees and its focus on the Solana blockchain. Although other markets existed in Solana’s ecosystem, Ethereum has always been the most popular spot for NFT trading activity. Since Magic Eden has become a multi-chain market, however, its connection to Solana is no longer its defining feature. Today, Magic Eden is famous for its clean UX/UI, dynamic Web3 community, and diversity of NFT projects.
Which blockchains work on Magic Eden?
Magic Eden still has a strong connection to the Solana NFT community, but it also offers NFTs on the Ethereum, Polygon, and Bitcoin blockchains. You can toggle between these networks on the top left-hand corner of Magic Eden’s homepage. Be sure you’re on the blockchain you’re most interested in before connecting your crypto wallet.
How to connect a Phantom Wallet to Magic Eden
To connect to the Magic Eden market, look for the button on the top right to link your preferred crypto wallet. For those most interested in Magic Eden’s Solana market, the Phantom Wallet is a popular option. If you don’t have a Phantom wallet, you can download one for free on the Phantom app. Once you’ve set up your Phantom account, click “Connect Wallet” on Magic Eden, select Phantom, and link your account.
If you’re interested in linking with the Ethereum or Polygon blockchains, consider downloading a Coinbase Wallet or MetaMask and linking it to Magic Eden. Lastly, for collectors who want Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs, Magic Eden works with BTC wallets such as Hiro, Xverse, and Unisat.
Top NFT projects on Magic Eden
The NFT leaderboards change daily, so anyone interested in the latest hot project should click the “Popular Collections” tab on the left of Magic Eden’s homepage. This screen will show you the most actively traded NFTs over the past day, week, and month.
Although the top-ranking NFTs on Magic Eden are constantly shifting, there are a few benchmark collections in the Magic Eden community:
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Okay Bears: Minted in April of 2022, Okay Bears was one of the first Solana profile pic (PFP) NFT collections to challenge the Ethereum ecosystem. Within about a month after its launch, these animated bear NFTs rose from a mint price of 1.5 SOL to a high of around 250 SOL.
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DeGods: Also released in 2022, DeGods is a PFP collection of 10K animated male avatars with a mix of punky and mythological traits. After a rocky start, the DeGods NFTs became a signature Solana NFT collection thanks to bonus features like NFT staking and an “enhanced” NFT collection called “DeadGods.” Although DeGods were originally on Solana, holders can migrate their NFTs to the Polygon blockchain.
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y00ts: The same team behind DeGods released a 15K y00ts PFP NFT collection on Solana. These colorful yeti-like creatures are De Labs’ “love letter to Web3.” Thanks to their association with the DeGods community and staking features, y00ts remain a popular project on Magic Eden.
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Solana Monkey Business (SMB): Released in 2021, Solana Monkey Business (SMB) is a pixelated PFP collection that mixes the aesthetic of CryptoPunks and the theme of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). SMB NFTs remain a status symbol in the Solana community, especially after Solana Monkey #1355 made headlines for a $2 million sale.
Collector tips on Magic Eden: How to buy on Magic Eden
After connecting your crypto wallet to Magic Eden, you could click the “Popular Collections” or “Auctions” tabs on the left to start scrolling through popular NFTs. If you have an NFT collection in mind, type the name in the search bar at the top of Magic Eden. When you take interest in an NFT, use all the analytics, APIs, and sales data Magic Eden provides to determine whether you’re comfortable buying or placing a bid.
For those who want to get in at the “ground floor” on NFT projects, check out Magic Eden’s “Whitelists” button under the “Magic Eden List” sidebar. Often, you’ll find info on how to register for an NFT allowlist spot and social media links to get more active with new NFT communities. You could also join Magic Eden’s Discord server for the latest alpha on what’s going on in the market.
Creator tips on Magic Eden: How to sell on Magic Eden
Magic Eden gives creators a few options to list their NFTs under its “Creators” tab. The simplest way to get approved on Magic Eden is to click the “Apply for Listing” button and submit an email address to Magic Eden. After verifying your email, you can fill out a form with all of the details, images, and social media pages for your NFT collection. If Magic Eden approves your collection, you’ll get a message letting you know your NFTs are live on the platform.
For NFT collectors who want the most exposure on Magic Eden, it’s worth sending an application to the Magic Eden Launchpad. While it’s not necessary to use this feature, a successful submission gives creators extra exposure and development support. Just keep in mind Magic Eden only accepts roughly 3 percent of these applications, so creators need to “wow” the development team with their NFTs.
What are royalties on Magic Eden?
Magic Eden has been at the center of the NFT royalties debate after it made these fees optional for buyers in 2022. Collectors can choose to pay zero, 50 percent, or the total NFT royalties on Magic Eden’s market. However, in late 2022, Magic Eden introduced an Open Creator Protocol (OCP) for Solana creators who want to enforce their royalties. NFT artists who opt for OCP have the right to ban non-royalty secondary sales of their NFTs. Although royalty fees vary by artist, they are usually roughly 5 to 10 percent for most NFT projects on Magic Eden.
How much does it cost to use Magic Eden?
Magic Eden has a flat fee of 2 percent on all NFT sales. There are no special costs to mint NFTs on Magic Eden, and gas fees are low on blockchains like Solana and Polygon. However, users may pay a bit extra in gas on Ethereum or Bitcoin, depending on network congestion.
See why Magic Eden is a mainstream NFT market
Magic Eden has become one of Web3’s most engaging NFT portals. As this site expands to other markets like metaverse gaming and Bitcoin Ordinals, it’s only becoming stronger in the crypto ecosystem. No matter your skill level with NFTs, Magic Eden is a great place to explore all of the exciting innovations in this industry.
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