Nike sold the NFT of a shoe for $134,000

Nike has just sold a virtual basketball in the form of NFT for $125,000, or $134,000. Despite the collapse of the cryptocurrency market, the brand is doing well thanks to a collection of very popular tokens.

Late last year, Nike entered the metaverse by acquiring a company that specializes in designing virtual sneakers in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The sportswear specialist has it in their hands RTFKT, a French start-up that aims to launch digital sneakers that can be worn by avatars in virtual worlds, in Zoom or Google Meet meetings, or displayed in augmented reality via a smartphone.

A few months later, in April 2022, Nike the first collection of virtual sneakers, called Cryptokicks. This collection included 20,000 different NFTs created by artist Takashi Murakami. The Japanese visual artist has collaborated with RTFK several times in the past. Note that this is one of the most highly regarded visual artists in the world.

Nike is a hit in the NFT market

Each sneaker is associated with an NFT. By purchasing the non-fungible token, you acquire the right to receive an exclusive digital sneaker from the brand. In this way, Nike wants to bridge the gap between shoe collectors and NFT collectors One of the virtual sneakers in the form of NFT that recently sold for the sum of $134,000 The digital work was bought at auction by an internet user named AliSajwani on OpenSea, one of the most important platforms in the ecosystem.

When the collection was launched, however, the starting price was around $8,500. Announcements from Nike and its partner, and the prospect of inclusion in the metaverse, pushed the price of NFTs up. “The mechanics around NFTs and sneakers are quite similar. Both are created around scarcity and limited supplies. It’s about community, status, and belonging,” analyzes Jurgen Alker, who runs an NFT studio for Highsnobiety. This sale is because the NFT market has shrunk recently, with token sales only collapsing after the cryptocurrency crash, but experts believe the NFT sector will soon recover in value.