Sorare Raises $50M for Digital Collectibles

What do Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Barcelona FC forward Antoine Griezmann, and Gary Vaynerchuk have in common?

They’re all part of soccer fantasy marketplace Sorare’s push for capital. The blockchain-based digital collectible firm raised $50 million during a Series A funding round. 

Sorare, as envisioned by co-founder and CEO Nicolas Julia, is “a digital experience where football fans collect, trade, and connect with the beautiful game in a whole new way” — like managing a virtual team with digital cards. 

The round was led by venture capital firm Benchmark, which previously made early investments in eBay, Uber, Twitter, and Instagram. VC firm Accel also participated. 

The funding will aid Sorare in developing and launching a mobile app, and help the company reach its goal of getting the world’s 20 best soccer leagues on the platform.

Digital marketplaces are a hot commodity. NBA Top Shot has seen over $144 million in sales in the last week. A one-of-one piece by digital artist Beeple resold on trading platform Nifty Gateway for $6.6 million today.

Sorare has processed $4.2 million in digital trading cards so far, including a Cristiano Ronaldo card that went for $102,000.