Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Magic Eden has acquired Slingshot, a trading app that allows users to see their crypto balance across multiple protocols.

Slingshot allows users to trade tokens from a single universal USDC balance, removing hurdles like wallet setup, bridging assets across chains, and juggling gas fees, thus expanding Magic Eden well past Solana to every chain, including bitcoin.

“This acquisition is a major step forward in advancing the Magic Eden vision, which is to provide users worldwide with a seamless and safe way to buy and sell crypto and digital assets across all chains,” Jack Lu, CEO and Co-Founder of Magic Eden said in a blog post.

“Pairing Slingshot’s team of product visionaries with Magic Eden’s best-in-class marketing and scaling capabilities accelerates our ability to have an impact on the future of crypto.”

Magic Eden says the Slingshot acquisition will bolster its plans to offer more fiat-to-crypto onramps through platforms like Apple Pay and Venmo, and introduce AI-assisted tools for easier token discovery and trading.

Magic Eden itself generated $75 million in NFT marketplace revenue in 2024, according to a post on X by Lu. Lu said that incorporating Slingshot’s abstraction tech positions it to effectively compete against centralized crypto exchanges.

At the same time, this comes as the NFT market continues to contract. A report from DappRadar shows that in 2024, NFT trading volumes fell by 19% despite a broad market bull run. More recently, the NFT marketplace X2Y2 said its closing its virtual doors citing declining trading volume.

The news cycle has turned chaotic for crypto traders, courtesy of President Donald Trump’s back-and-forth tariffs announcement. In such situations, traders tend to ignore the noise and follow the tape – monitor the price chart, identify the path of least resistance and follow the same.

In case of bitcoin (BTC), the tape has turned bullish, with short-duration price charts flashing a pattern opposite of the one that characterized the January-February price peak above $109K.

We are talking about the double bottom pattern comprising two consecutive troughs with lows at about the same price, representing downtrend exhaustion, and a trendline drawn through the high point between the two troughs. A move above the trendline, also called the neckline, confirms a breakout and a bullish shift in the market trend.

BTC put in a double bottom at around $74,600 between April 7 and April 9, separated by a temporary recovery (high point) to nearly $80,800. On Wednesday, prices rose past that neckline level, confirming the double-bottom breakout.

Technical analysis theory suggests adding the gap between troughs and the neckline to the breakout point to gauge the potential upside move, which suggests scope for a BTC price rally to $87,000. As of writing, bitcoin changed hands at $82,000.

Supporting the bull case is the appearance of a «bullish outside day» candle on the daily chart, suggesting a trend reversal higher. The candle gets its name from its distinctive shape, featuring a green body and wicks that entirely engulf the negative price action of the preceding day. This pattern indicates a strong effort by buyers to reassert control, reflecting renewed bullish sentiment in the market.

These bullish signals risk invalidation in case of a renewed move below $75,000.

XRP, DOGE recovery may have legs

Payments-focused cryptocurrency XRP and the leading memecoin by market value, DOGE, surged by 14.3% and 12.7% on Wednesday, respectively, as a renewed uptick in BTC encouraged risk-taking across the broader crypto market.

Both cryptocurrencies formed bullish outside day candles, signaling the bulls’ efforts to regain market control after an extended sell-off. The pattern suggests potential for continued gains in the short-term.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose to nearly $82,000 early Thursday to usher gains across the crypto market after a U-turn on tariffs led to relief in broader equity markets on Wednesday, prompted by President Donald Trump changing course on a steep tariff levy globally.

XRP and ether (ETH) led gains among crypto majors with a 12% surge, while Cardano’s ADA, BNB Chain’s BNB, Solana’s SOL and dogecoin (DOGE) zoomed as much as 10%. Overall market capitalization rose 6%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20) showed a 7% increase.

Crypto-tracked futures showed short liquidations of over $350 million, the highest since early March, which helped ease losses from Monday and Tuesday as bitcoin dove to nearly $75,000 at one point.

Such liquidation events often present a market buying opportunity, as CoinDesk noted on Monday, as they can signal an overstretched market that indicates a price correction has occurred, among other factors.

Elsewhere, Bittensor’s TAO, Sonic’s S and Flare’s FLARE were up as much as 30% to lead gains among midcaps, or tokens below a $5 billion market cap.

Thursday’s jump came as Trump paused higher tariffs on all countries, except China, where he increased the levy to 125%, amid mounting concerns from global leaders and recession fears. Countries that were hit with the higher, reciprocal duties that went into effect Wednesday will now be taxed at the earlier 10% baseline rate applied to other nations.

U.S. stocks staged their best rally since 2008. The S&P 500 Index soared 9.5%, rebounding from bear-market territory, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 surged 12%.

As such, traders continue to watch developments for cues on positioning amid the uncertainty.

“The market is rallying in response to anticipation that most trading partners will negotiate trade deals with the US, avoiding a full-fledged trade war,” Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, told CoinDesk in a Telegram message. “That being said, continued tariffs against China and vice versa will lead to a realignment of global trade that could drastically change how the world operates. We remain cautious until we see the consequences of this play out over the coming months.”

Jupiter Zheng, partner at HashKey Capital, signalled a possibility of markets reaching a local bottom.

“The upswing was fueled by optimism that the worst may be behind us. While potential headwinds remain, such as retaliatory tariffs from China in response to Trump’s 125% increase, the start of negotiations with other countries offers some hope,” he said in an email.

“As US regulators continue to streamline regulatory hurdles and implement more favorable policies, it’s possible that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have reached a bottom, assuming no unexpected surprises emerge. The industry may not have fully priced in these developments, leaving room for potential growth,” Zheng added.