Nike Buys Virtual Sneakers Company, RTFKT, To Mark A Footprint In The Metaverse World

JAKARTA – Nike Inc said on Monday, December 13 that it had purchased a virtual sneakers company, RTFKT, for an undisclosed amount. The sports apparel giant from the US wants to quickly expand its footprint in the "metaverse" which is currently growing fast.

Last month, Nike became one of the first major brands to enter cyberspace together which rose to prominence after Facebook Inc recently changed its name to Meta Platforms Inc.

In such a blockchain-based environment, users can buy virtual land and other digital assets such as clothes for avatars in the form of crypto assets called non-fungible tokens (Non-Fungible-Tokens).

Formed in 2020 by Benoit Pagotto, Chris Le, and Steven Vasilev, RTFKT also creates NFT collections and memes, according to its website.

"This acquisition is another step that accelerates Nike's digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, play, and culture," Nike Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe said in a statement.

Nike's entry into both the metaverse and blockchain world marks a major shift that has occurred in the sports industry. Today many football clubs have also entered the blockchain world. But it looks like no one has entered the world of the metaverse.