Sorare Migrates from Ethereum to Solana, Citing Scalability
Background: Sorare’s Decision to Switch Blockchains
Fantasy sports crypto platform Sorare has announced it will migrate from Ethereum to Solana, marking a significant shift after six years operating on Ethereum. Sorare, which holds a user base of 5 million and was valued at $4.3 billion in October 2021, plans to complete the migration by the end of this month. The platform has cited Solana’s scalability and consumer-focused features as primary reasons for the change. The move will see over 10 sports games and associated trading cards transition to the Solana blockchain. Reporting via CryptoNews.
Market Reaction and Ethereum Optimism
Sorare Chief Executive Nicolas Julia emphasized that the migration to Solana is an “upgrade” and not a replacement of Ethereum, highlighting the importance of remaining adaptable in the fast-evolving blockchain landscape. He noted, “It’s not a replacement, it’s an upgrade,” according to comments made during the announcement. Julia later told Cointelegraph that Solana currently leads the fantasy sports crypto sector in revenue, active addresses, developers, and total value locked.
Despite the migration, Julia reaffirmed Sorare’s support for Ethereum: “We remain very bullish on it,” he stated, explaining that Sorare will keep supporting Ethereum users through Base network integration and continued Ether (ETH) deposits. This approach aligns with Sorare’s broader strategy of becoming chain-agnostic, leveraging multiple blockchains to optimize for user experience and scalability.
Industry Impact and Next Steps
Sorare’s migration follows similar moves by blue-chip crypto projects such as 1inch and The Graph, both of which have shifted to Solana from Ethereum to accommodate growth. Sorare is also integrating Layer0 to allow seamless payments across Solana and Base, furthering efforts to be compatible with various blockchains. CEO Julia mentioned that Solare will continue to evaluate other high-speed chains to maximize the reach for its sports trading cards.
Sorare’s core offering lets users buy, sell, and trade licensed sports player NFTs, form teams, and win rewards based on real-world performance. The company competes with platforms like Flow, Chiliz, and NBA Top Shot. However, market data from CoinGecko shows that the market capitalization for sports crypto tokens currently stands at $1.17 billion, a substantial decrease from its 2021 highs. According to DappRadar, Sorare NFT floor prices have dropped from $91.25 in April 2022 to $2.21 as of October 2023, yet daily NFT sales remain consistent, echoing 2022 volumes with 5,000–30,000 transactions per day.
Addressing concerns regarding Solana’s historical network outages, Julia stated, “We’ve been more than reassured by the quality of Solana’s technology, the team behind it, and the network’s recent track record of stability.” He added that outages have become less frequent and are swiftly resolved, signaling increased maturity in Solana’s infrastructure.
What’s Next for Sorare and the Sports Crypto Market
The migration process is expected to be finalized by late June 2024, after which all of Sorare’s sports games and NFTs will operate primarily on Solana, though Ethereum support will continue through integration strategies. The move reflects ongoing shifts in the sports crypto market as platforms seek more scalable and user-friendly blockchain solutions.
For further reading on the broader crypto and NFT sector, visit Vizi’s Cryptocurrency Analysis.
