Silks
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Game of Silks (Silks) was a blockchain gaming platform founded by CEO Dan Nissanoff that mirrored the real world of thoroughbred horse racing. Players bought horse NFTs tracking real racehorses and earned rewards when their horses won races or bred in the real world. The company raised about $8 million, including a $5 million Seed 2 round in October 2023, and formed partnerships with the New York Racing Association, NYRA Bets, The Jockey Club, and Fox Sports' America's Day at the Races.
02 / Silks FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Game of Silks collapsed in 2024 after its Season 2 horse NFT sale failed: demand evaporated, the secondary market for its NFTs froze in July 2024, payouts on Season 1 winnings stopped, and development halted almost immediately. A later class-action lawsuit alleged the company needed $20 million a year just to stay afloat and had sold its NFTs as unregistered securities while hiding critical financial information from the community.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Funding and partnerships
Game of Silks closes a $5 million Seed 2 round in October 2023 and announces partnerships with NYRA, NYRA Bets, The Jockey Club, and Fox Sports.
- Collapse
The Season 2 horse NFT sale fails to attract buyers; the NFT market freezes in July 2024, payouts on Season 1 horse winnings stop, and the project halts development. The company's X account goes dormant in late June 2024.
- Class-action lawsuit
Investors file a class-action lawsuit against Game of Silks and its founders, alleging the NFTs were unregistered securities, that leadership concealed the company's finances, and that investors lost millions. The suit claims the company needed $20 million invested annually to stay afloat.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Game of Silks raised about $8 million in venture funding, including $5 million in October 2023.
- 02
The Season 2 NFT sale failed in 2024, the secondary market froze in July 2024, and Season 1 payouts stopped.
- 03
The company folded; a class-action lawsuit filed in 2025 seeks damages for the millions investors lost. No reliable realized-loss figure was disclosed.