- The smart wearables NFT startup RTFKT, which Nike purchased in 2021, announced on Monday that it is closing.
- The project, which has more than two dozen collections, has generated around $50 million in lifetime income, placing it tenth among NFT initiatives in terms of earnings.
A statement on Monday announced the closure of RTFKT, the NFT project most known for its attempt to popularize “digital shoes.” Although its Ethereum-based tokens will still be available, the project, which was purchased by athletic apparel giant Nike in 2021 for an unknown amount, intends to completely shut down by the end of January.
We will be developing an updated website that highlights the innovative work that shaped the RTFKT journey in order to celebrate and preserve this pioneering legacy.
RTFKT, which was founded in 2020 at the dawn of the NFT and metaverse craze, immediately established itself as a rapidly expanding firm. It created “drops” with companies like Nike and worked with artists like Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and sneaker designer Jeff Staple.
During that time, a worldwide pandemic kept most people cooped up at home, giving them free time to engage in the so-called metaverse. Since then, though, a lot of people have lost interest in representing themselves in shared virtual spaces and enhancing reality with digital accompaniments.
Nike acquired RTFKT in order to increase its visibility in the metaverse; as of this writing, the company has not made any public remarks regarding the closure. Citing waning demand, the corporation predicted in June that fiscal revenue would decline in the upcoming year. In September, The Verge revealed that Nike had omitted RTFKT’s emblem from their statement of the resignation of John Donahoe as CEO. Donahoe is credited with promoting RTFKT and making Nike uncool.
RTFKT was valued at $33.3 million at the time of Nike’s acquisition, having already raised $9.42 million from investors, including Andreessen Horowitz.
Nike shoes bearing the RTFKT name are regarded as collector’s goods by some sneakerheads. When RFTFK was at its height, sneaker analyst Chris Burns called it “influential.”
According to DeFiLlama, RTFKT is the ninth-ranked NFT project in terms of NFT profits.Over $45 million in royalties and roughly $50 million in lifetime sales have been produced. The project has more than two dozen collections in total, and its most successful drop, CloneX, has generated about $1.5 billion in trade volume.
The inventor of Bodoggos NFTs, crypto-celebrity Nick O’Neill, who goes by the tagline “choose rich,” posted a video earlier this year claiming that Nike was getting rid of RFTFK.
As a tribute to our dedication to breaking boundaries and fusing cultures, RTFKT plans to release one more drop before closing down, the statement reads.
Disclaimer : This article was created for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. An asset’s past performance does not predict its future returns. Before making an investment, please conduct your own research, as digital assets like cryptocurrencies are highly risky and volatile financial instruments.
