Share this article
Sportswear Giant Nike Purchases NFT Fashion and Collectibles Startup RTFKT
Nike is making a major move into the metaverse with the acquisition of a leading digital apparel player.
Updated May 9, 2023, 3:33 a.m. Published Dec 13, 2021, 9:43 p.m.
Multinational footwear behemoth Nike just took a big step into the metaverse.
On Friday, NFT collectibles and fashion startup RTFKT announced on Twitter that the company had been acquired by Nike. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
RTFKT is now a part of the NIKE, Inc. family. 🌐👁🗨 pic.twitter.com/5egNk9d8wA
— RTFKT (@RTFKT) December 13, 2021
The acquisition appears to be a perfect fit. One of RTFKT’s flagship products is a hybrid NFT/physical shoe collectible inspired by the legendary CryptoPunks NFT collection, and the project attracted headlines in March when a digital footwear collaboration with prolific non-fungible token artist FEWOCiOUS sold $3.1 million in metaverse kicks.
Nike, meanwhile, was exploring blockchain technology as early as 2019, going so far as to patent tokenized shoes.
Read more: The Metaverse Is Coming, Companies Need to Prepare
“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, gaming and culture,” Nike President John Donahoe wrote in a blog post. “We’re acquiring a very talented team of creators with an authentic and connected brand. Our plan is to invest in the RTFKT brand, serve and grow their innovative and creative community and extend Nike’s digital footprint and capabilities.”
Gm. New kicks with my zombie on them, from @RTFKTstudios 👀🥰 pic.twitter.com/S96Wceewrk
— Kevin Rose 🦉 (@kevinrose) December 13, 2021
Metaverse fashion is also a rapidly expanding sector. A rival NFT streetwear project, Cryptokickers, signed a first-ever digital shoe deal with former National Basketball Association star Wilson Chandler in April.
Read more about how NFTs are reshaping sports, culture, media and entertainment in CoinDesk’s Culture Week series.
UPDATE (Dec. 13, 23:15 UTC): Adds link to related series at end.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Cascade Unveils 24/7 Neo-Brokerage Offering Perpetuals on Cryptos, U.S. Stocks
The platform will let retail traders use one margin account to trade round-the-clock perpetual markets.
What to know:
- Cascade has introduced a 24/7 brokerage-style app for perpetual markets spanning crypto, U.S. equities and private-asset exposure.
- The firm is pitching a single, unified margin account with direct-to-bank U.S. dollar capability for deposits and withdrawals.
- The company has raised $15 million from investors including Polychain Capital, Variant and Coinbase Ventures.
Top Stories
