In December, Nike bought virtual sneaker designer RTFKT (pronounced “artifact”). More than $11 million has now been spent on the first set of virtual sneakers.
Sneakers are a collector’s item, so it’s not uncommon to see rare models fetch huge prices. Limited Edition Yeezys regular worth five figures , and shoes with historical value, such as those worn by Michael Jordan during iconic games, are sometimes sold at auction at a price of more than a million . But a recent purchase will likely go down as one of the most unusual sales in the annals of sneaker history: Someone paid $130,000 for a pair of virtual Nike sneakers .
Of course, the sneakers in question are NFTs. This is part of a collection Nike Dunk Genesis Cryptokicks with 20,000 NFT launched by Nike and RTFKT (“artifact”), a virtual sneaker designer that Nike bought last December.
This particular NFT is rare as it features a color scheme designed by renowned artist Takashi Murakami. Of the 20,000 virtual sneakers in the set, only 98 feature the design pictured above, making them a rare collector’s item. (If you’re into that sort of thing.) Since the launch last Friday, shoppers have been snapping up generic sneakers in the collection for between $5,000 and $9,000 (1.75 to 3 Ether).
Regardless of whether you believe in metauniverse or not, many companies are betting that this is the future. Nike one of them. In addition to buying RTFKT in December, the company created Nikeland in Roblox, an online “metaverse” which is visited by millions of people every day .
This is not the only clothing brand that pays attention to Web3 : Adidas launched its collection in December Into The Metaverse with 30,000 NFT, partnering with the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Owning an NFT promises a shedding of clothes in both virtual and real life, a tactic also followed by Dolce & Gabbana . Gucci took a different route by teaming up with collections of blue NFT chips, to place gucci clothing on avatars of Pudgy Penguins, World of Women and Bored Ape Yacht Club .
