Nike Acquires RTFKT Studios to Enter the Digital Sneakerverse 🚀
Nike officially made its boldest digital move yet by acquiring RTFKT Studios, the virtual sneaker and NFT powerhouse founded just a year earlier by Benoit Pagotto, Chris Le, and Steven Vasilev. This strategic purchase marked Nike’s first major foray into the metaverse—melding its legendary athletic and fashion identity with RTFKT’s avant‑garde digital art and blockchain authentication Vogue Business+15About Nike+15Reuters+15.
Why it Matters
Nike CEO John Donahoe described the acquisition as “another step that accelerates Nike’s digital transformation” and a gateway to “serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming, and culture” Vogue Business+8About Nike+8Vogue Business+8. The deal instantly planted Nike at the cutting edge of Web3, giving it immediate credibility—and a vibrant community—without having to build from scratch.
🔥 Notable Drops Since the Acquisition
April 2022 – CryptoKicks: Nike Dunk Genesis
In a co‑launch with RTFKT, Nike introduced its flagship Web3 sneaker—a limited run of 20,000 NFTs with customizable “skin vials.” By June, this release generated over 5.8K ETH (~$11 million) in trading volume, with individual CryptoKicks reselling from $5K to a staggering $130K+ WIRED+3Campaign Asia+3Highsnobiety+3Campaign Asia+2RightMetric+2Business Insider+2.Takashi Murakami x Clone X Avatars
This collaboration alongside the broader Clone X avatar line pushed nearly $185 million in revenue by late 2022, nearly half of which stemmed from Nike‑backed RTFKT NFT drops LuissThesis+12Vogue Business+12PANews Lab+12..Nikeland on Roblox
Even before RTFKT, Nike launched “Nikeland” on Roblox in November 2021, and drew over 7 million users within months Campaign Asia+13Cryptonews+13Vogue Business+13—a sign of how digital experiences were already part of its strategy.
🎯 Why It Still Matters
Despite the operational wind-down, Nike’s RTFKT venture reshaped both corporate strategy and cultural perception:
• It legitimized “phygital” fashion—blurring the divide between tangible and digital ownership.
• It propelled major fashion brands into Web3, showing that merging technology and culture yields real revenue—Nike’s NFT revenues surpassed many industry giants Vogue Business.
• It planted essential seeds—talent, infrastructure, and marketplace foundations—for Nike to evolve its digital footings across new virtual realms.
đź‘ź Final Thoughts
Nike’s acquisition of RTFKT was more than a deal—it was a declaration. It said: the future of sneakers isn’t just leather and laces—but metadata and metaverses. While RTFKT’s story may be ending, it lives on in Nike’s digital psyche, in platform ambitions like .Swoosh, in patent portfolios, and in the millions who grabbed digital kicks just for the flex. Whether critics or die-hard collectors, plenty will agree: this is one of the most compelling intersections of sport, fashion, tech—and culture—to date.
