TL;DR
- NFT market capitalization collapsed ~99%, forcing major platforms to diversify.
- OpenSea rebuilt its platform to integrate token trading across 19 blockchains.
- Magic Eden expanded into token trading and “crypto entertainment” after acquiring a meme coin app.
The once-booming NFT sector has entered a period of quiet restructuring. After the hype of 2021 and 2022, when Beeple’s digital art sold for $69.3 million and CryptoPunks traded for tens of millions, market capitalization has fallen nearly 99%, according to CoinMarketCap, from $184 billion in 2023 to just $487 million.
Faced with this collapse, leading marketplaces such as OpenSea and Magic Eden have expanded their operations to include fungible token trading. Both platforms are shifting from pure NFT hubs to broader digital asset venues as user activity declines.
NFT giants expand into token trading
OpenSea took the most aggressive step by launching OS2, a rebuilt platform that integrates token trading across 19 blockchains through its own decentralized exchange. The update introduced a Voyages rewards system, which analysts believe is tied to a future SEA token launch.
Adam Hollander, CMO at OpenSea, explained that the change was not simply a reaction to declining NFT demand but part of a long-term evolution. “Tokens, digital collectibles, tokenized real-world assets, perps, prediction markets—whatever people are valuing online, we want them to be able to trade it all on OpenSea,” he said.
In October 2025, OpenSea reported a DEX trading volume of $2.41 billion, its highest on record. However, by November, activity fell 75% to $581.48 million, according to DefiLlama. Despite this decline, the addition of token trading helped stabilize the company’s broader metrics.
James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, noted that integrating fungible tokens has allowed platforms like OpenSea and Magic Eden to “defend relevance in a maturing digital asset market” and offset the slowdown in traditional NFT activity.
Magic Eden pivots toward “crypto entertainment”
In parallel, Magic Eden expanded beyond NFTs by acquiring Slingshot, a meme coin trading app, in April 2025. The acquisition allowed the company to enter the token market while maintaining NFT trading across multiple chains.
Despite the expansion, Chris Akhavan, Chief Business Officer at Magic Eden, clarified that token trading remains a secondary business line. “That market is heavily commoditized, with plenty of DEXs and centralized exchanges already serving traders,” he said. Instead, the company is now positioning itself within what it calls “crypto entertainment,” targeting digital culture, gaming, and social integrations rather than speculative trading.
Butterfill observed that Magic Eden has been more proactive than OpenSea in integrating token trading, particularly within the Solana and Web3 gaming sectors. He described the platform as moving toward an “application layer for digital culture”, rather than a simple marketplace.
According to Butterfill, both OpenSea and Magic Eden have managed to stabilize engagement levels and diversify fee income during a year when NFT trading volumes remained subdued. “The adaptations have worked,” he said. “But the long-term question remains whether marketplaces can merge NFT and token rails in ways that users cannot easily replicate elsewhere.”
In 2025, NFT platforms are no longer about speculative collections but about survival through diversification. The race is now about who can redefine digital asset trading—not just in art, but across the full spectrum of blockchain-based value.
