Earlier this month, the sportswear industry made a transition towards the metaverse as adidas teamed up with the Bored Ape Yacht Club to release a collection of Three stripe-inspired Bored Ape NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. However, the Swoosh isn’t letting the German sportswear manufacturer have all the fun as they are also making metaverse moves of their own. In the latest development, Nike acquires RTFKT Studios, which is “a leading brand that leverages cutting edge innovation to deliver next-generation collectibles that merge culture and gaming”.
It is no coincidence that Nike chose RTFKT Studios as their partner for what’s to come next in the quickly advancing landscape of technology. Earlier this year, RTFKT collaborated with teenage artist FEWOCiOUS to sell both real and virtual sneakers to consumers. In just six minutes, approximately 600 sneakers and NFTs were sold, amounting to $3.1 million. With that being said, RTFKT has served as a pioneer in the NFT space for collectible sneakers—just what Nike needs to make a similar mark on the metaverse as they have in the real world.
While Nike’s acquisition happens to be the biggest news for the creator studio of virtual sneakers and collectibles, RTFKT is not slowing down. In fact, the studio just announced their launch of the Clone X NFT collaboration with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, offering up a number of metaverse-ready digital avatars styled with various collectible traits. As more and more big names are joining the metaverse movement, it can be expected that exponential growth will take place, and very soon people will be more excited to rock their shoes online rather than a mall.
The project is in its very early stages, so we just have to wait and see how this business move will pan out in the long run. Do you think it was a good move? Let us know in the comments below. As Nike acquires RTFKT, let’s take a look at the early stages of the future of NFT Sneakers?
