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"We saw the immense potential that blockchain and NFTs brought to unlock a new way for football clubs, footballers, and their fans to experience a deeper connection with each other," said Nicolas Julia, CEO and co-founder of Sorare. It plans to open an office in the United States and expand into sports other than soccer. Sorare is the largest sports-based NFT platform by sales volume, according to, a website which tracks NFT market data. "This evolution from physical assets to digital assets is very powerful, and creates a lot of exciting potential business models." "We think NFTs represent a new paradigm in the collectability, usability, and engagement with assets," Michel Combes, president of SoftBank Group International, said in emailed comments. The market for NFTs has seen explosive growth in 2021, with collectible and sports-related the most popular types of token. The cards are traded in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a kind of crypto asset which records the ownership status of digital goods on the blockchain. Paris-based Sorare said the investment valued the company at $4.3 billion.įounded in 2018, Sorare is an online game where players buy officially licensed cards representing soccer players and build teams which play against each other, with the outcome based on the players' performance in real-life games. LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Blockchain-based fantasy soccer game Sorare has raised $680 million in a funding round led by SoftBank (9984.T), with players including ex-England international Rio Ferdinand and Spain's Gerard Pique also investing, the company said on Tuesday.
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