The prominent NFT marketplace Magic Eden is making significant changes to its token strategy.
Several months after announcing plans to introduce a fungible token under the “NFT” ticker in partnership with a mysterious group called the Non-Fungible DAO, Magic Eden revealed on Thursday that it will instead proceed with its established branding: the ME token from the rebranded ME Foundation.
Details regarding the launch date of the ME token and its distribution method—including a potential airdrop for Magic Eden users who have earned Diamond rewards (or points)—remain uncertain. However, it has been confirmed that the token will be exclusively claimable through the Magic Eden Wallet on both mobile and desktop.
Matt Szenics, Director of the ME Foundation, explained to Decrypt that the initial idea for the “NFT” token name was aimed at securing a ticker that epitomizes the asset class—specifically, non-fungible tokens, which represent ownership of unique items like artwork and rare video game assets.
“The goal was: it would be really advantageous to lock down this token ticker to make people think of us as the NFT token project,” he stated. “And it’s straightforward, right? It represents the multi-trillion-dollar asset class of the future.”
However, Szenics noted that several developments occurred after that. First, Magic Eden quickly ascended to the leading position in the NFT market regarding trading volume, spurred by rising interest in Bitcoin Ordinals earlier this year ahead of the halving event.
Additionally, the multi-chain Magic Eden began to broaden its focus beyond NFTs, which had been its primary aim since its original launch on Solana in 2021. The platform introduced its own cross-chain wallet following an initial beta launch late last year and later supported Runes—a Bitcoin variant of fungible tokens that debuted in April.
As Magic Eden’s aspirations evolved, Szenics mentioned that the Foundation chose to retain the branding that has gained significant recognition in the crypto community over the past three years.
