{"id":21085,"date":"2024-12-05T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T09:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/?p=21085"},"modified":"2026-02-13T08:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T08:45:09","slug":"rtfkt-to-cease-operations-by-2025-following-decline-in-nft-popularity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/rtfkt-to-cease-operations-by-2025-following-decline-in-nft-popularity\/","title":{"rendered":"RTFKT to Cease Operations by 2025 Following Decline in NFT Popularity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>RTFKT, a company known for producing <strong>NFT-based products<\/strong> such as virtual shoes and acquired by <strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/nike-launches-new-digital-community-swoosh\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5697\">Nike<\/a><\/em><\/strong> in 2021, has announced it will <strong>shut down operations<\/strong> by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Rise and Fall of RTFKT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"627\" src=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/New-development-on-Nikes-NFTs-and-metaverse-project-1024x627.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9763\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/New-development-on-Nikes-NFTs-and-metaverse-project-1024x627.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/New-development-on-Nikes-NFTs-and-metaverse-project-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/New-development-on-Nikes-NFTs-and-metaverse-project-768x470.jpg 768w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/New-development-on-Nikes-NFTs-and-metaverse-project-150x92.jpg 150w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/New-development-on-Nikes-NFTs-and-metaverse-project.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>NFT craze<\/strong> swept the world in 2021, prompting many companies to adapt to this emerging trend. In December 2021, Nike acquired <strong>RTFKT Studios<\/strong>, a brand specializing in <strong>NFT-based merchandise<\/strong>, including virtual clothing and shoes. At the time, this acquisition signaled Nike&#8217;s interest in exploring the potential of <strong>NFTs and the metaverse<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, recent developments suggest that this venture has not panned out as expected. In a <strong>social media announcement<\/strong>, RTFKT confirmed its plans to cease operations by <strong>2025<\/strong>, thanking its supporters for their contributions during the company&#8217;s brief tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reasons Behind the Closure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"810\" height=\"524\" src=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Nike-Acquires-NFT-Shoe-Maker-in-Metaverse-Expansion-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9044\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Nike-Acquires-NFT-Shoe-Maker-in-Metaverse-Expansion-1.jpg 810w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Nike-Acquires-NFT-Shoe-Maker-in-Metaverse-Expansion-1-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Nike-Acquires-NFT-Shoe-Maker-in-Metaverse-Expansion-1-768x497.jpg 768w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Nike-Acquires-NFT-Shoe-Maker-in-Metaverse-Expansion-1-150x97.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Founded in <strong>2020<\/strong>, RTFKT quickly rose to prominence during the height of the <strong>NFT boom<\/strong>, which helped fuel its acquisition by Nike. However, as the <strong>popularity of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/nfts-blog\/\" data-type=\"category\" data-id=\"68\">NFTs<\/a><\/em> and the metaverse waned<\/strong>, the company faced mounting challenges. This decline in market interest ultimately led to the decision to shut down operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Lesson from the NFT Hype<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/The-Astonishing-Value-of-Nikes-Virtual-Shoe-on-Metaverse.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9595\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/The-Astonishing-Value-of-Nikes-Virtual-Shoe-on-Metaverse.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/The-Astonishing-Value-of-Nikes-Virtual-Shoe-on-Metaverse-300x169.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/The-Astonishing-Value-of-Nikes-Virtual-Shoe-on-Metaverse-768x432.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/The-Astonishing-Value-of-Nikes-Virtual-Shoe-on-Metaverse-390x220.jpeg 390w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/The-Astonishing-Value-of-Nikes-Virtual-Shoe-on-Metaverse-150x84.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The closure of RTFKT highlights the risks associated with trends that achieve <strong>rapid but unsustainable popularity<\/strong>. Nike&#8217;s foray into NFTs, once seen as a bold move, now serves as an example of how even major companies can falter when betting on emerging but volatile markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the NFT era fades, the lessons learned from ventures like RTFKT will shape how businesses approach future <strong>digital trends<\/strong> and <strong>innovative technologies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__list wp-block-latest-posts\"><\/ul>\n\n\n<p><br><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RTFKT, a company known for producing NFT-based products such as virtual shoes and acquired by Nike in 2021, has announced it will shut down operations by 2025. The Rise and Fall of RTFKT The NFT craze swept the world in 2021, prompting many companies to adapt to this emerging trend. In December 2021, Nike acquired &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAown96uCw:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[316],"class_list":["post-21085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-web3new","tag-nft"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21085"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41826,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21085\/revisions\/41826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}