decrypt.co
An Ethereum NFT trading card based on NBA rookie star Victor Wembanyama sold for over $110,000 Thursday, apparently topping the record sale for one of his physical trading cards.
Released by Sorare NBA, an officially licensed fantasy basketball game, the single-edition “Unique” digital trading card of San Antonio Spurs player Wembanyama—this year’s first pick in the NBA draft—ultimately sold for 61.182 ETH, or about $110,120 at the time that the auction concluded.
According to media reports, the top sale for a physical Victor Wembanyama trading card came in August at a price of $67,333 via auction platform Goldin, which included the buyer’s premium. That was for a “pre-rookie” card ahead of his official NBA debut. Sorare’s NFT auction came just days after “Wemby” started racking up numbers on the Spurs.
“It is a testament to Victor Wembanyama’s enormous talent and popularity as a rising star of the league, as well as the core advantages of a digital Sorare card over a traditional physical sports collectible—proven ownership and real utility,” a Sorare representative told Decrypt via email.
🚀🏀 History Made: Victor Wembanyama's Unique @Sorare NBA card just sold for a record-breaking $110K!
Digital leapfrogs physical as the most valuable Wembanyama collectible to date.
Ownership, fantasy play, and AR tech - the future of sports memorabilia is here. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/tAMWhRKwoJ
— Nicolas Julia (@ni2las) November 2, 2023
Sorare launched in 2019 with its original fantasy soccer game, which remains its largest draw, and has since launched league-specific games with the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Each game features NFT trading cards that can be used in-game by players to build their lineups, which can then earn them rewards such as cryptocurrency and additional NFTs.
Between its platforms, Sorare has generated more than $713 million worth of NFT sales to date, per data from CryptoSlam. The company last raised a $680 million Series B funding round in 2021 that valued Sorare at $4.3 billion.
Sorare NBA’s record NFT sale came back in February, when an NFT based on Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo sold for 113.9 ETH, or about $187,000 worth at the time.
Edited by Guillermo Jimenez