Rally Crypto Firm Pulls the Plug on Its Sidechain as Crypto Industry Struggles – Here’s What Happened

Social token platform Rally has announced the closure of its sidechain operations due to a lack of funding. The project warned users that their crypto assets would become void as tokens on the Rally sidechain are not transferable to mainnet.

In an email on January 31, Rally said its sidechain will begin sunsetting today. “This means that after today, the site will no longer be supported and you may experience a degradation in services or it may simply become inoperable,” the platform reportedly said. 

Rally warned that users won’t be able to access their crypto tokens and NFTs once the site shuts down since these assets are not transferable to the mainnet. 

The project said they had a “challenging” year in 2022 along with the broader crypto market. The fallout of Terra’s decentralized stablecoin UST prompted a series of bankruptcies, including the implosion of major crypto lenders like Celisius and BlockFi, and even the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. 

“As most of you are aware, 2022 was a challenging year not only for the platform, but also for the entire crypto industry. The team has worked relentlessly to try to find a path forward, however the challenges and macro headwinds are too overwhelming to overcome in the current environment.”

Founded in 2018, Rally is a platform for creators, media personalities, bands, and esports teams to launch social tokens, which allow them to monetize their work. It is comparable to other subscription platforms like Patreon, but with a more dynamic structure. 

Fans and followers could purchase the Rally tokens launched by their favorite creators to support their work. The tokens offered various perks, ranging from a chance to meet in person with their favorite creators to even monetary incentives. 

Some of the more notable creators on Rally include actor and creator Felicia Day, musician BT, and LA Rams wide receiver Brandon Powell. The startup also managed to raise $57 million from investors in 2021.

Rally’s token RLY has been buttered since hitting an all-time high of around $1.40 in April 2021, losing more than 99% of its value. As of now, the token is trading at $0.0125, down by more than 16% over the past day. Notably, the coin is still up by 60.5% over the past 30 days, as per data by CoinGecko. 

Meanwhile, some members of the Rally community have lashed out at the project for leaving its users stranded and with no way forward. One user Chris Strub revealed he lost some money to the platform and called investment in the platform “a colossal mistake.”

I lost some money in @rally_io — not as much as others, I'm sure, but I will admit it was a colossal mistake on my part.

I apologize to anyone who made an investment in creator coins/NFTs on this platform because of my endorsement. I was wrong. https://t.co/XRxspNNKqR

— Chris Strub (@ChrisStrub) January 31, 2023