Magic Eden Under Fire For Disappointing S1 Rewards

$ME stakers and NFT traders are lashing out at Magic Eden, following what users widely consider to be disappointing Season 1 rewards.

With power users expressing frustration and low-activity traders claiming to be pleasantly surprised, participants have called for Magic Eden to review their rewards criteria.

Responding to user concerns, Magic Eden has indicated changes will be made to improve reward distribution in Season 2.

Users Frustrated With Rewards

Magic Eden, Solana’s biggest NFT marketplace, is facing criticism from its users in the wake of Season 1 rewards distribution. Disappointed with their allocations, supporters have turned to social media to air their grievances, claiming Magic Eden has failed those who aligned with the platform long-term.

Following its TGE in December, Magic Eden enabled $ME staking, enabling holders to lock up tokens for up to 4 years. Locking tokens for longer periods of time increased a user’s staking power, which was promised to give a trader boosted rewards over non-stakers.

Based on this knowledge, many users locked away their $ME holdings in the hope of receiving sizable future rewards. 

In response to mounting criticism, Magic Eden has reaffirmed that Season 1 rewards would be distributed in a way that favored active traders, rather than passive stakers.

While $ME stakers have expressed frustration, organic traders have been pleasantly surprised by their allocations. 

Meanwhile, Magic Eden CEO and co-founder Jack Lu has acknowledged the community’s frustration and committed to finding a better path forward in future seasons.

Magic Eden Teases Changes in Season 2

While soliciting feedback from its users, Magic Eden has also introduced a more visually dynamic way of tracking rewards in Season 2.

Magic Eden’s Season 2 rewards campaign will run until mid-August, introducing a leaderboard to help users track their activity relative to other traders. As before, $ME staking power will boost rewards, but users are still required to actively trade assets on the platform to be eligible.

$ME Down 14% On Weekly

While the Magic Eden’s Season 2 rewards distribution has had a negligible impact on the asset’s prices, markets haven’t been kind to $ME in recent weeks.

Amidst wider market uncertainty inflicted by poor macro conditions and U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war, $ME has steadily declined since its launch in December 2024. At press time, $ME is down 14% on a weekly time frame.

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