Nike Acquires NFT Shoe Maker in Metaverse Expansion

MetaversePlanet February 22, 2022Last Updated: August 15, 2024

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Following Facebook’s announcement, investments in the metaverse have experienced a notable surge. Nike, a prominent global shoe and sportswear manufacturer, has joined the virtual universe trend by acquiring RTFKT Studios, a company specializing in producing shoes as NFTs.

While the official sale price remains undisclosed, RTFKT Studios had secured $8 million in investments in May, resulting in a valuation of $33.3 million for the company. RTFKT Studios uniquely creates shoes designed for the metaverse, and these virtual shoes are sold as NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

Nike’s acquisition of RTFKT Studios signals a strategic move into the future of the virtual world. The metaverse-focused company, RTFKT Studios, recently made headlines by selling the works of the young artist FEWOCiOUS.

This collaboration, combining virtual and real shoes, resulted in the sale of 600 designs in less than six minutes, generating an impressive $3.1 million in revenue for the company. Nike’s investment underscores the growing significance of the metaverse and its potential impact on the traditional realms of commerce, art, and fashion.

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WHAT IS NFT?

Nike Acquires NFT Shoe Maker in Metaverse Expansion

Immutable Tokens, often referred to as NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), are a form of digital art or digital collectibles. These tokens have the unique characteristic of representing various items such as tweets, paintings, pictures, memories, GIFs, football player cards, and more.

While the term “Immutable Tokens” is used interchangeably with CryptoKitties, it’s essential to clarify that CryptoKitties is just one example within the broader category of NFTs. CryptoKitties operates as an unchangeable token marketplace specifically designed for owning digital cat figures. The popularity of CryptoKitties has led to the term “immutable tokens” being associated with this specific platform.

In essence, NFTs, including platforms like CryptoKitties, have gained prominence as a groundbreaking technology that allows for the ownership and representation of unique digital assets on blockchain platforms. These digital tokens have found applications in various domains, transforming the way we perceive, own, and trade digital content in the digital age.

WHAT IS THE VIRTUAL UNIVERSE METAVERSE?

The term ‘metaverse,’ translated as ‘sanal evren’ in Turkish, provides users with access to a digital realm existing on the internet.

Considered an advanced form of virtual reality technology, the metaverse is often described as a fictional universe. The term itself is a combination of “meta,” meaning beyond, and “universe.” It was notably featured in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 science fiction novel, Snow Crash.

The metaverse serves as a shared 3D virtual environment, offering users the ability to shop, subscribe to services, collaborate with colleagues, play games, and personalize their surroundings to match individual preferences and needs. It represents a departure from merely observing the digital realm, allowing individuals to enter and engage with the digital world.

Users can project themselves in the form of holograms, and the metaverse is envisioned as an embodied internet that one can enter rather than merely observe. In this evolved digital space, real human images are used for interaction, digitizing the actual physical environment of users, in contrast to the cartoonish avatars prevalent in pre-created virtual worlds.

The concept of the metaverse has been featured in various movies and video games, including The Matrix, Pokemon Go, Minority Report, Ralph Breaks The Internet, and Black Mirror.

Facebook executives define the metaverse as an environment where individuals can feel a sense of togetherness while engaging in activities such as gaming or research. This signals a growing recognition of the metaverse’s potential to reshape how people connect and collaborate in the digital realm.