Magic Eden to Trial ME Token and It's Asking Users Not to Trade It

Image: Magic Eden

Magic Eden may want users to claim a token called TestME Tuesday using its digital wallet—but the NFT marketplace is encouraging degens to sit this one out.

That’s because the TestME token, as the name implies, is intended to be a trial run and precursor to the Magic Eden Foundation’s governance token. That token, rebranded as ME earlier this year, has yet to be assigned a specific release date.

The Magic Eden Foundation will release the bare-bones token on Tuesday as a way for its associated NFT marketplace to flex its technical muscles. Though the company is encouraging users to claim the token if they can, it’s also cautioning users against speculating on what’s intended to be a one-off showcase.

The token won’t serve as the cross-chain NFT marketplace’s governance token, which was initially teased in January. Rather, the endeavor is being billed as a test run for Magic Eden Wallet, which will be used when the governance token is released later.

The cross-chain NFT marketplace has leaned heavily into its digital wallet offering since its release in November. Supporting fungible tokens, the product’s prioritization has coincided with Magic Eden’s push beyond digital collectibles as the market for NFTs moves further away from its frothy days in 2021 and 2022.

Users who want to claim TestME will need the NFT marketplace’s wallet, Magic Eden said in a blog post. U.K. and U.S. residents are excluded from participating in the rollout.

The window for claiming TestME will last two days, allowing users to “get comfortable with the process of claiming tokens,” Magic Eden said. Additionally, those two days will give Magic Eden the chance to vet any technical issues.

Citing the token’s lack of “intrinsic value,” Magic Eden said that it adopted the token purely for testing purposes and “discourages trading of the token.” 

Nevertheless, TestME will likely see some activity that mirrors moves similar to those of other projects.

MockJUP, a token released by the decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter as a test for its launchpad in January, became a pseudo-meme coin for a short amount of time. It wasn't ultimately supported long-term, but some early traders made money on the Solana token as degens aped in ahead of the anticipated, real-deal JUP airdrop.

Magic Eden said that TestME’s distribution will be limited to those who have engaged with the platform in the past six months. And even though users will need a Magic Eden Wallet to claim TestME, other types of wallets can be linked to it to provide proof that a user has recently engaged with Magic Eden’s services, the company said.

While Magic Eden entered the NFT market on Solana, the company has added support for several other chains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Still, the company views Solana as core to its business, with Solana token trading slated for the platform.

Originally, the Magic Eden Foundation’s governance token was set to be called NFT. However, the foundation decided to keep Magic Eden’s branding attached to the asset as the platform expanded to support a version of Bitcoin-based fungible tokens called Runes.

More details about Magic Eden’s governance token, letting holders participate in voting on the platform’s direction, are set to be released following TestME’s rollout. Meanwhile, Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu has shared details about his vision for ME’s ultimate role.

“$ME will [...] serve as an incentive layer to continuously help onboard, engage, and reward all Magic Eden users,” he wrote on Twitter (aka X) earlier this month, adding the token’s “integration will also reward the most long term continuous users.”

As the Magic Eden Foundation pushes forward with plans for a governance token, TestME may just be one step in a lengthy technical process. At the same time, the bare-bones tokens could generate some buzz—and eager wallet users—for what’s to come.