Key takeaways:
- Magic Eden raised $130 million at a $1.6 billion valuation during its Series B funding round
- Launched in September 2021, Magic Eden has quickly grown to become the largest NFT marketplace on Solana
- NFT activity on Solana is showing positive momentum despite the recent crypto downturn
Magic Eden NFT transactions hit record numbers in June despite the crypto downturn
Magic Eden, the largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace on Solana (SOL), has raised $130 million in its Series B financing round that was co-led by Electric Capital and Greylock Ventures. According to the official announcement, the company was raising capital at a $1.6 billion validation.
The Magic Eden marketplace has been one of the success stories of 2022. Since its launch last September, the company has expanded beyond more than 100 people globally and became the leading place to trade NFTs and launch new digital collectibles and blockchain games on Solana. Magic Eden surpassed the $1 billion secondary trading volume milestone in March, the same month as the company concluded the $27 million Series A funding round.
Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu spoke about the company’s financing round and the role of NFTs in the industry:
“We know that NFTs are the best way to bring people onto the blockchain. They’re exciting, social, and cultural experiences that bring connectivity to the world. We’re thrilled to have the continued support of our investors and community and look forward to onboarding the next billion users to Web3.”
According to blockchain data tracking firm DappRadar, Magic Eden saw more than $421 million in trading volume in the past 30 days. In addition, the number of active users reached 288,000, which represents more than a 3% month-over-month increase. At the same time, the total number of transactions increased by 40% to 13.1 million.
Magic Eden’s trading figures come in stark contrast to the largest NFT marketplace OpenSea, which saw a 57% drop in transaction volume in the past month. It is worth noting that while Ethereum and Polygon NFT transactions were down considerably, Solana NFTs on OpenSea saw a 78% increase over the second half of May and the first two weeks of June.
