The non-fungible token exchange platform (NFTs) Magic Eden, structured on the Solana blockchain (SOL), has just raised $27 million to expand through a Series A funding round. This new funding will allow the platform to expand on several fronts, including via gaming based around NFTs and through the creation of its own investment fund.
Magic Eden raises $27 million
The non-fungible token exchange platform (NFTs) Magic Eden, hosted on the Solana blockchain (SOL), has just closed a $27 million Series A funding round.
Led by investment fund Paradigm and other industry regulars like Sequoia, Electric Capital or Greylock, the round was also powered by Solana Ventures, the fund dedicated to the Solana blockchain.
For Jack Lu, CEO and co-founder of Magic Eden, the platform wants to mark the transition with Web 3.0:
“Magic Eden will be much more than a place for users to simply buy NFTs. Our goal is to make a clear distinction between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 by allowing creators and collectors to interact with each other […].”
The company also wants to expand its internal structure by recruiting 60 new employees, especially to be able to carry out its mobile application project dedicated to NFTs. In addition, according to Lu, Magic Eden will create its own investment fund called “Magic Ventures” in the near future, without revealing more details on this subject.
So many measures that will be focused on the adoption of NFTs among the general public, as confirmed by Arjun Balaji, investment partner at Paradigm:
“At a time when NFTs are being democratized to the masses, we are confident that Magic Eden’s team, which maintains its focus on its customers, will help lead the way.”
The platform is moving into blockchain gaming
At the same time as its latest fundraising, Magic Eden kills two birds with one stone and announces the release of “Eden Games”, its new platform aimed at facilitating access to NFT-based games.
Through the press release dedicated to this new project, the Magic Eden team explains that today, the NFT market is very volatile and ephemeral as users are constantly looking for a new lucrative project. This is a problem because NFT projects are often time consuming and require a significant investment from their developers.
In order to make it easier for investors to understand the emerging projects, Eden Games will offer itself as a platform to present these games based on NFTs. In concrete terms, developers will have at their disposal a page explaining their project on which all the concrete information relating to it will be visible, as well as a trailer video.
Finally, all of these projects will be carefully selected by the Eden Games team in order to “present the best that the Solana ecosystem has to offer”.
According to the release, Eden Games aims to make it easier to enter the world of NFTs, which can be confusing at first:
“We are interested in games because we see them as fantastic host experiences for NFTs and Web 3.0. NFTs and crypto may seem complicated, but games are fun and a great way to introduce people to a new technology.”
