Magic Eden is a trailblazing NFT marketplace, supporting multiple blockchains including Ethereum Mainnet, Polygon, and others. A key part of the Magic Eden ecosystem is the Magic Eden Launchpad, a dedicated platform for projects looking to vault into the spotlight during their launch phase. Magic Eden has been instrumental in helping projects gain traction and audience engagement, and now it's set to transform how membership programs are launched and managed.

Across the Unlock Protocol Locksmith ecosystem, we've had an increasing number of teams requesting guidance on how to launch their Unlock-powered membership programs via Magic Eden's Launchpad. Based on this demand, Unlock Protocol and Magic Eden have worked together to seamlessly integrate Unlock Protocol smart contracts into the Magic Eden Launchpad and marketplace, paving the way for more projects to bring their memberships and subscriptions to market through the Magic Eden marketplace. Projects such as the CyberKitty Playhouse have launched using this approach.

A key aspect of this integration revolves around the unique purchase() function in the Unlock smart contracts. This function, detailed in Unlock's documentation, is tailored to mint NFT memberships with specific parameters such as the membership recipient, the value paid, membership managers (if applicable), a referrer address, and potentially additional data.

To streamline the purchase process, Unlock Protocol developed a backend API that simplifies the integration of these parameters for projects using Magic Eden's marketplace. In practice, this means projects can now more easily leverage the power of Unlock Protocol for their membership programs, tapping into a wider audience and unlocking new paths to community engagement and monetization thanks to increased visibility within the Magic Eden marketplace.

This partnership is more than just a technical integration; it's a shift in how NFTs are used for community engagement and membership models. By combining the strengths of Unlock Protocol's membership and subscription smart contract functionality and Magic Eden's Launchpad, we're opening up new opportunities for creators and communities to connect in novel and exciting ways.

For projects looking to explore this further, jump into the Unlock Protocol Discord!