RTFKT, now a subsidiary of Nike, revealed its latest NFT sneakers over the weekend, called CryptoKicks. The unveiling of these Nike co-branded virtual sneakers happened through the burning of MNLTH, a mysterious NFT box that Clone X NFT holders received as a freebie.
- Nike acquired RTFKT late last year, and their co-branded RTFKT x Nike Dunk Genesis CryptoKicks collection finally made its debut
- Clone X NFT holders were airdropped with mysterious boxes, which can bring them virtual sneakers together with other benefits
- The MNLTH NFT contained 3 new NFTs: the digital sneakers, a customization vial and a new MNLTH box
- RTFKT x Nike Dunk Genesis Cryptokicks already selling for at least 2.86 ETH or $8,400
- The RTFKT Skin Vial goes for 1 ETH, while the cheapest second MNLTH goes for 4.3 ETH.
As blockchain, NFTs, and the metaverse brings physical and digital worlds together, it opens up unlimited opportunities for brands to create unique experiences for their customers and fans. Top sportswear brands, Adidas and Nike, are clearly the most aggressive and yet strategic when it comes to shaping the sports fashion landscape in the metaverse.
In December 2021, Adidas teamed up with Bored Ape Yacht Club, crypto influencer Gmoney, and Punks Comic to drop the Into the Metaverse NFT collection. Unsurprisingly, the NFTs were sold out within minutes. Unlike Adidas’ collaborative approach, Nike acquired the virtual sneaker studio, RTFKT, embarking on the journey to conquer the metaverse.
Last Friday, RTFKT revealed the co-branded collection of virtual sneakers on Discord and Twitter. The so-called Nike CryptoKicks are actually an exclusive privilege to the holders of the Clone X collection, a profile picture (PFP) NFT project that RTFKT co-created with the contemporary artist Takashi Murakami.
The mysterious MNLTH gets you Nike CryptoKicks
To kick off the CryptoKicks’ reveal, RTFKT airdropped MNLTH, a mysterious box NFT to Clone X owners. Those who gave up Clone X NFT for hot money earlier might now have something to regret. On the contrary, for those who hodled it, now it’s time to reap the rewards.
In every MNLTH box, there are a pair of CryptoKicks, a single Skin Vial, and a pass to the second MNLTH vault. You can find these 3 items together on the secondary market for 8.1 ETH. While the MNLTH box containing the three items has a 10.9 ETH floor price, and of course gives you a chance of finding a rare Skin Vial and pair of CryptoKicks.
It is worth mentioning that every pair of Cryptokicks can be evolved with the help of the Skin Vial, an NFT that triggers varying styles. In this way, RTFKT and Nike can present the community with a customizable and gamified virtual sneaker experience in which holders can collect, evolve and breed their sneakers. In the future there will be different layers of customization, allowing users to create their own unique style of digital sneaker. Down the road RTFKT will also introduce physical shoes through a mechanic called Forging, but there are no details on this yet.
Later on, RTFKT also plans to offer creators and partners the opportunity to join the sneaker skins co-creation. At the moment, Takashi Murakami’s artistic skin has already entered the collection.
Is the metaverse the future of fashion?
Is the metaverse the future of fashion? Unfortunately, it is still too early to predict that. However, brands doubling down on the virtual wearables is an undeniable fact since NFTs can definitely add elements such as authenticity, uniqueness, and scarcity to both physical and virtual items. Undoubtedly, these elements are especially relevant to fashion goods.
??Actually, Nike’s strategic planning for the crypto world dates back to 2019. The sportswear brand filed a patent for its blockchain-compatible sneakers dubbed “CryptoKicks” in 2019 and got approved by the US Patent Office in December that year. With that background information, the acquisition of RTFKT studio makes even more sense now. It perfectly reflects the current trend that the physical world and the Web3 world are seeking a two-way flow of knowledge and expertise through acquisition, a topic deeply discussed in the previous episode of the DappRadar podcast, Off the Blockchain.
DappRadar will continue monitoring the latest developments of RTFKT and CryptoKicks. Hope to keep up with the latest happenings in the blockchain world, follow DappRadar on Twitter, join us in Discord, and check out our Youtube channel to stay tuned!
