Magic Eden: Beginner’s Guide (May 2024)

Want to get started trading NFTs on Magic Eden? In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know to get started buying, selling, and creating NFTs on the marketplace!

What is Magic Eden?

Magic Eden is a marketplace that allows users to buy, sell, and mint NFTs. Based on transaction volume, Magic Eden is the largest NFT marketplace in the world — surpassing competitors like Blur and OpenSea! 

While Magic Eden was originally made for Solana NFTs, it has recently expanded to support Ethereum, Polygon, and Bitcoin Ordinals. 

Magic Eden is known for offering low fees — with 0% listing fees and 2% transaction fees!

How does Magic Eden work? 

Decentralized marketplaces like Magic Eden don’t require you to create an account using an email address and password. Instead, you can get started by connecting your software wallet! Here are a few wallets supported by MagicEden:

• Phantom 
• MetaMask 
• Magic Eden Wallet
• Xverse 
• Solflare 
• Exodus 
• Coinbase Wallet 

Once you’ve connected your wallet, you can get started buying and selling NFTs on Magic Eden! 

History of Magic Eden

Magic Eden was launched in September 2021. The project saw more than $50,000 worth of transactions on its first day and quickly became the leading marketplace for Solana. 

Magic Eden was founded by Jack Lu, Sidney Zhang, Zhuoxun Yin, and Zhoujie Zhou. Prior to co-founding MagicEden, CEO Jack Lu worked for Boston Consulting Group and Google. 

In 2022, Magic Eden raised $130 million in funding from respected venture capital firms like Greylock and Electric Capital. Though cryptocurrency was in a bear market at the time, Magic Eden still was valued at $1.6 billion. 

How to connect your wallet to Magic Eden

Want to get started with Magic Eden? Here’s how you can connect your wallet and get started. 

1. Click the ‘Connect Wallet’ button on the MagicEden home screen.

2. Next, choose the type of wallet you want to connect. 

3. Sign in to your wallet. This will not cost any SOL and will not allow MagicEden to make transactions with your wallet. 

4. Click ‘Confirm’ on the next screen. 

How to Buy an NFT on Magic Eden

1. Connect your wallet: Make sure you have a wallet like MetaMask, Phantom, or Coinbase Wallet that contains the cryptocurrency you wish to spend. If you haven’t done so already, connect the wallet to Magic Eden. 
2. Connect and browse: Browse NFT collections on Magic Eden. You can find trending collections on the homepage, or search for NFTs using Magic Eden’s search bar. 
3. Select and Purchase: Choose the NFT you want, then click ‘Buy Now’. Alternatively, you can choose the ‘Make An Offer’ button if you want to negotiate with the seller. 

How to Sell an NFT on Magic Eden

1. Select My Items: Once you’ve connected your wallet to Magic Eden, you’ll see the option to click ‘My Items’.

2. Find the NFT you wish to sell: Find the NFT you wish to sell. 
3. List your NFT: You’ll see the option to List your NFT.  click the "List Now" button to finalize the process. It will be sold once a buyer wishes to make a purchase. 

4. Instant Sell: If a buyer has made an offer on the NFT collection, it’s possible that you may see an ‘Instant Sell’ option available. With this option, you’ll be able to instantly exchange your NFT for crypto. 

How to use the Magic Eden Launchpad

Magic Eden features a launchpad for creators. The platform allows creators to launch projects without any technical knowledge. 

Your launchpad application is vetted based on the following criteria: 

• Team quality 
• Partnerships 
• Utility
• Art quality 
• Investment to the project 
• Social media and community following 

Only around 5% of NFT projects are approved for the launchpad — ensuring that collections that make it through the process are high-quality! 

What is the difference between Magic Eden and OpenSea?

• Blockchain Focus: Initially, Magic Eden originally was designed for Solana, while OpenSea was originally designed for Ethereum. Today, both marketplaces now support Ethereum and Solana NFTs. However, Magic Eden supports more Solana wallets, while OpenSea supports more wallets overall. 
• Lower fees: Magic Eden offers lower fees on transactions (2% compared to OpenSea’s 2.5%.) 
• Market Volume: While OpenSea was once the world’s biggest NFT marketplace, Magic Eden is now the top NFT marketplace by trading volume. 

How does the Magic Eden rewards program work? 

Magic Eden offers a rewards program where users earn ‘Diamonds’ for certain actions — such as buying native listings and listing NFTs! 

At this time, ‘Diamonds’ cannot be traded for cryptocurrencies. It’s likely that Magic Eden took this approach to avoid potential regulatory action from the SEC for offering ‘unregulated securities’. 

What is the Magic Eden Aggregator? 

The Magic Eden Aggregator allows you to look at listings from other marketplaces. If you’re interested in a specific collection, MagicEden allows you to find the cheapest listing for that collection across all marketplaces!

Are there NFT games on Magic Eden? 

Magic Eden works with many popular NFT games — such as Star Atlas and Aurory. You can buy, sell, and trade NFTs from these games on Magic Eden! 

Is Magic Eden safe?

Magic Eden is a trusted and secure NFT marketplace. The marketplace regularly goes through audits from third-party security firms like Halborn to ensure that there are no vulnerabilities. 

How is Magic Eden governed?

In January 2024, Magic Eden unveiled plans to create the NonFungible DAO. Holders of the $NFT token will come with governance rights. Tokenholders will be able to vote on the future of Magic Eden. 

At this time, the $NFT token has not been released to the public. 

Does Magic Eden have an API? 

Magic Eden has an API that allows developers to access the site’s listings and marketplace data! 

Are transactions on Magic Eden taxed? 

NFTs are taxed similarly to other crypto-assets. That means that your NFT transactions on MagicEden may be subject to capital gains and income tax. 

Crypto tax software like CoinLedger can automatically connect to Magic Eden and help you easily report your income and capital gains from NFT transactions. 

What controversies has Magic Eden faced? 

Just like other NFT marketplaces, Magic Eden has faced controversies in the past.

In 2023, Magic Eden had a bug that allowed fake listings to be sold as part of established collections. The bug was quickly fixed and users who bought the fake listings were issued refunds. 

Also in 2023, an issue with a 3rd-party caching service led to some NFT artwork temporarily being replaced with pornographic images.