Magic Eden and Metaplex Clash Again In Control of Solana NFT Space

On Dec 12, 2022

Magic Eden and Metaplex have clashed again as control for the Solana (SOL) NFT market heats up. It’s a long-simmering dispute between the two startups and this time it has been played out on Twitter.

In a tweet thread, NFT creator Metaplex accused leading NFT marketplace Magic Eden of coordinating a ‘pressure campaign’ aimed at controlling the Solana NFT space. The tweet surprisingly co-accused Magic Eden and former Metaplex developer Jordan Prince of conjoining ‘to take control over the multi-sig for token metadata’ with an aim of enriching themselves.

1/ gm Metaplex community. Over the past 24 hours, there has been a coordinated pressure campaign led by @MagicEden and @redacted_j to take control over the multi-sig for token metadata and give it to themselves and a small group of their close allies for personal gain.
— Metaplex (@metaplex) December 8, 2022

It seems that Metaplex is determined to maintain its aim of elevating creators rather than seeing traditional gatekeepers taking the lions share.

However, according to the thread, the NFT developer said, ‘those same commercial dynamics have re-emerged within Solana NFTs and [they] are trying to pressure us into a half-baked governance scheme to take the standard out of the community’s hands.’

Magic Eden was quick to respond, and in its response on Twitter, Solana’s biggest marketplace denied the accusations that it was ‘trying to take control over the NFT standard on SOL,’ and alleged the NFT creator has ‘a god mode key’ that allows them to manipulate how it works to the benefit of holders of its MPLX governance token.

🧵 Earlier today, @metaplex falsely accused us of trying to take control over the NFT standard on SOL.
Many teams, including Solana Foundation, want @metaplex to decentralize governance of their token metadata standard so we can create a better ecosystem together.
— Magic Eden 🪄 (@MagicEden) December 8, 2022

Magic Eden went on to say it was hoping Metaplex could come together to create ‘an immutable, non-commercial standard’ that would benefit the whole NFT ecosystem, but with the long-simmering dispute taking to social media, it’s hard to see a compromise anytime soon.

Magic Eden Losing Market Share

With the fight for control in the Solana NFT space taking to social media, it’s clear an agreement must be sought. It’s an ongoing debate, which has arguably been triggered by Magic Eden losing market share to newer rivals.

As it works, NFT creators typically set royalties between 5% and 10% on their NFT and will earn a percentage of the sale price of any future secondary market trades. However, Magic Eden said in October that it would no longer strictly honor creator-set royalties on NFTs sold through its platform.

Magic Eden had over 90% of the Solana NFT marketplace, but with new startups attracting NFT traders with the allure of zero-royalty transactions, it is quickly losing its dominance, and so the war with Metaplex has escalated.

It’s an ongoing issue with the leading marketplace and NFT developer and one that needs to be ironed out quickly to the benefit of the Solana NFT space. The two startups are leaders in the space, but with things taking to Twitter, it’s time to fix the issue to the benefit of the whole space.

Metaplex wants to honor its NFT artists and creators by ensuring they earn royalties for their work, but with Magic Eden losing market share to startups offering royalty-free transactions a compromise needs to be found, and quick.