Sorare
- Sorare has deals with Premier League, NBA, and MLB
- Previously, Ethereum was only way to make transactions
- Firm hopes cash payments will remove technological barrier to adoption
Blockchain-based fantasy sports firm Sorare will let players to purchase cards and complete other transactions using cash rather than cryptocurrency for the first time.
Sorare’s game combines the mechanics of traditional fantasy sports with the collectability of trading cards. Users acquire, trade and assemble teams of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing real-life athletes, receiving points based on their real-world performance.
These cards are made available in various rarities, with the price for each determined by market forces in an auction. Cards can be exchanged for real cash, but until now, there was a requirement to have a crypto wallet and make purchases using the Ethereum platform (ETH).
Sorare believed this process represented a significant barrier to mainstream adoption of both its own platform and of Web 3.0 technology in general.
It has partnered with Mangopay to create a cash wallet that allows users to connect their bank accounts and store card details to deposit and withdraw funds that can be used to purchase card packs, bid on auctions, and sell cards.
The wallet accepts payments in US dollars, Euros, and British pounds, as well as Ether crypto transactions on the Ethereum platform, should users wish. The Sorare wallet will be made available to all players form August.
“Sorare is built using blockchain technology because we believe it can deliver unique benefits to sports fans and fantasy gamers in the form of proven authenticity, scarcity, and portability,” said Sorare chief executive Nicolas Julia.
“However, new technologies must be accessible to all if they are to fulfill their potential. The launch of Cash Wallet is key to our goal of making Sorare as simple and user-friendly as possible for all sports fans and we are thrilled that we can now enable Managers to build their teams and collections using real-world (or fiat) currencies for the very first time.”
SportsPro says…
Sorare has four of the ‘big five’ European soccer leagues on its platform, complementing deals with LaLiga, Bundesliga, and Serie A, and the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Soccer (MLS).
Although Web 3.0 is fundamental to its proposition, Sorare sees blockchain as a means to an end rather than as a specific selling points of its platform. In press events and other communications, references to crypto technologies and NFTs are scarce. It positions its games as a fantasy experience rather than as a Web 3.0 product.
Eliminating the need for a crypto wallet removes a technological barrier and a layer of complexity, meaning many users won’t have to directly interact with Web 3.0 or understand the principles of it at all to participate in Sorare’s own brand of fantasy sports.
