Nike Acquires RTFKT in a Move Toward the Metaverse

The move demonstrates its desire to be a major player in the emerging virtual world.

RTFKT (pronounced "artifact"), founded by Benoit Pagotto, Chris Le and Steven Vasilev, uses blockchain and augmented reality to create digital sneakers and other artifacts for the metaverse, CGT reported. According to its website, the group began as an undefined collective that provided designs and concepts to game companies and a few fashion brands.

Companies across the consumer goods industry are still exploring the metaverse's potential to see what makes sense for their brands—a landscape that Bloomberg Intelligence estimates will be worth $800 billion by 2024, according to CGT

Experimenting with Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and delving deeper into gaming communities have been part of this. Nike has been a forerunner in the space, opening a digital showroom in online gaming platform Roblox last month and making headlines for filing a trademark application for virtual goods.

RTFKT's products are aimed at gamers and creators, and customers can buy them with Ethereum cryptocurrency. According to Nike President and CEO John Donohoe, the acquisition is another step in the company's digital transformation, meeting at the "intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture."

See the full story at Consumer Goods Technology.