Magic Eden Acquires Slingshot to Simplify Cross-Chain Crypto Trading

Magic Eden, a leading non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, has announced its acquisition of Slingshot, an application that aims to revolutionize cryptocurrency trading by offering users a single, universal account balance to trade assets across any blockchain.

The acquisition, announced Thursday, signals Magic Eden's ambition to become a comprehensive platform for all digital assets, directly competing with centralized exchanges by simplifying the often complex process of cross-chain transactions.

According to Magic Eden, the acquisition of Slingshot addresses a significant pain point for on-chain traders: the cumbersome process of managing multiple wallets, navigating bridges between different blockchains, and ensuring sufficient gas tokens for transactions. Slingshot's technology abstracts away these complexities, allowing users to access and trade any token on any blockchain using a unified USDC balance. The platform supports both spot and limit orders within a non-custodial and transparent trading environment.

Jack Lu, CEO and co-founder of Magic Eden, emphasized the strategic importance of the acquisition. "This acquisition is a major step forward in advancing the Magic Eden vision, which is to provide users worldwide with a seamless and safe way to buy and sell crypto and digital assets across all chains," he stated. He further highlighted the synergy between Slingshot's product innovation and Magic Eden's marketing and scaling expertise, expressing confidence in their combined ability to shape the future of crypto accessibility.

Slingshot's CEO and co-founder, Clinton Bembry, echoed this sentiment, while alluding to a broader shift away from centralized platforms, emphasizing the potential of their combined efforts to "further empower the individual and make crypto more accessible for everyone."

In a series of tweets , Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu outlined the vision behind the acquisition, declaring, "Today's the last day you ever need to think about chains." He emphasized that Slingshot's "full chain abstraction" technology solves the "holy grail of crypto," enabling trading without users even noticing the underlying blockchain complexities. Lu envisions this user-friendly experience as a key differentiator, allowing Magic Eden to directly compete with centralized exchanges.

Magic Eden also reaffirmed its commitment to its leading position in the NFT market, reporting healthy revenue share across multiple chains in the first quarter of 2025 and highlighting the $75 million in revenue generated in 2024.

Initially, both Magic Eden and Slingshot will continue to operate as separate platforms, but increased connectivity and future integrations are planned.