Magic Eden is set to acquire the crypto trading application Slingshot, broadening its scope beyond NFTs and aiming to compete with centralized exchanges (CEX) by providing a fully on-chain trading experience, as announced in an April 9 press release.
This acquisition represents a pivotal change for Magic Eden, which has established itself as a prominent marketplace for digital assets and NFTs. The company now aspires to become what it describes as “the most comprehensive and all-encompassing trading platform in the cryptocurrency realm.”
Slingshot has drawn in nearly 1 million users thanks to its mobile-first design, which facilitates cross-chain trading with ease. The app streamlines the token swapping process across over 10 blockchains, eliminating the often cumbersome and risky bridging process.
Jack Lu, CEO and co-founder of Magic Eden, remarked:
“This acquisition represents a significant advancement toward realizing the Magic Eden vision, which aims to offer users around the globe a smooth and secure method for buying and selling crypto and digital assets across all chains.”
The acquisition occurs amidst a shifting landscape in the crypto industry, now valued at $2.5 trillion, as the sector increasingly embraces decentralized infrastructure. This shift is driven by rising concerns about transparency, security, and user autonomy.
Although centralized exchanges have maintained a stronghold in the market, many critics point out that they often conflict with the foundational principles of cryptocurrency and can create vulnerabilities.
In recent weeks, Slingshot has gained popularity as it stands out among the few platforms capable of listing all tokens across multiple chains in real-time. It also seeks to attract new users by allowing registration with just an email and enabling payments via Apple Pay, Venmo, PayPal, and credit or debit cards.
The two companies plan to merge Slingshot’s features into Magic Eden’s platform, which promises to support over 5 million tokens and will soon include access to Bitcoin-native tokens. This collaboration highlights a growing movement within the industry to offer alternatives to centralized entities, empowering users with greater control over their assets while maintaining ease and speed.