Nike Launches ‘CryptoKicks’ NFT Virtual Sneaker Collection

After flagging its move into the metaverse in December with the acquisition of digital art house RTFKT Studios, sports apparel giant Nike has debuted its Ethereum NFT sneakers, CryptoKicks.

In its teaser video released on Twitter (see above), RTFKT demonstrated how its Nike digital sneakers can be modified via collectible “Skin Vials”, which can be mixed and matched to enable a range of styles.

CryptoKicks can be opened through RTFKT’s MNLTH Ethereum NFTs, which were airdropped for free to holders of RTFKT’s CloneX profile picture NFTs and other earlier RTFKT NFTs in February.

That same month, Nike sued online sneaker reseller StockX for selling unlicensed images of its NFT sneakers, claiming the US$3.8 billion company had sold around 500 Nike-branded NFTs at “inflated prices and [under] murky terms of purchase and ownership”.

Social Media Goes Mad For CryptoKicks

The launch of CryptoKicks follows a series of quests, or puzzles, collectors had to solve before RTFKT launched the website that allows holders to open the mysterious NFT vaults. As some holders have shared via social media, the MNLTH vaults contain a pair of CryptoKicks, a single Skin Vial, and a second MNLTH vault.

RTFKT will launch a quest series to unlock the MNLTH 2 vaults later this year. Each pair of CryptoKicks will also feature an “evolution path” enabling them to be progressed in various ways.