Sorare, the blockchain-based fantasy sports game where fans can collect NFT player cards, is changing home once again, this time moving from StarkEx to layer 1 chain Solana.
In an Oct. 8 announcement, Solare described the move from Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution StarkEx as “more than a technical upgrade,” calling it “an advancement in our vision to be the most open and flexible platform for digital sporting goods.”
In its FAQ section about the transition, Solare explained that it is moving Solare cards to Solana to connect it to a “broader ecosystem,” including the ability to manage NFTs in popular Solana wallets like Phantom. The team also hinted at the possibility of future Solare ecosystem tokens as part of their long-term vision.
“Longer term, we are exploring every opportunity in front of us: forging partnerships with other communities, unlocking new forms of gameplay and utility, and perhaps expanding our own ecosystem leveraging Sorare tokens.”
The announcement did not provide any details as to why Sorare chose to move to Solana, but X commentators have suggested that Sorare may have been paid an eight-figure sum for the move. The Defiant reached out to Solare and Solana for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.
Founded in 2019 by Nicolas Julia and Adrien Montfort, Sorare started on Ethereum and moved to L2 StarkEx, an application-specific scaling engine from Starknet developer StarkWare, by mid-2021 to reduce gas costs. That same year, the company raised $680 million in Series B funding, giving it a valuation of approximately $4.3 billion.
Migration details
As part of the transition starting this month, users’ ETH balances currently on StarkEx will be migrated to Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2, Base, improving “transaction efficiency while maintaining a familiar experience,” Solare said.
According to the blog post, by the end of October, Sorare cards will be bridged as Solana NFTs while preserving all card attributes such as rarity, serial number, season, XP, and metadata. The team also stated that Solare will cover all gas fees associated with the transition, and specified that users “will not sign any transactions or use any cryptocurrencies during the transition.”
Sorare also added that once the transition is complete, cards withdrawn to Ethereum wallets “will continue to work for gameplay, but will not be transactable on Sorare until redeposited or bridged to Solana,” and NFTs left on StarkEx will be bridged to Solana.
Are NFTs back?
NFT trading volume and number of sales. Source: DappRadar
Sorare’s move comes as total NFT sales have reached their highest level since 2022, according to data from blockchain analytics platform DappRadar.
In a research post on Thursday, DappRadar wrote that the market recorded more than 18.1 million NFT sales in the third quarter, generating $1.6 billion in transaction volume, adding that “one of the leading DAPPs” in the sports space is Sorare, which is responsible for “sold hundreds of thousands of digital cards to players and collectors around the world, and multi-million dollar transaction volume.”
Earlier today, Larva Labs, creator of CryptoPunks, Autoglyphs, and Meebits, wrapped up its curated series of Art Blocks with its new collection Quine, with the sale ending at 7.56 ETH, or $31,000 per Quine NFT.
