Nike Sells NFT Sneakers for Thousands. This Week's Top Bitcoin and Crypto News (2024)

Our lead story this week is the NFT sneakers Nike is selling, which are going for $6,000 or more right now.

We also cover an NFT theft, after the Bored Ape Yacht Club Instagram account was hacked; the city of Fort Worth voting to mine bitcoin; the Central African Republic adopting bitcoin as legal tender; and Fidelity's decision to include bitcoin in 401(k) plans.

Nike's NFT sneakers are selling for thousands of dollars

Nike Sells NFT Sneakers for Thousands. This Week's Top Bitcoin and Crypto News (1)

Nike released a collection of 20,000 digital sneakers as NFTs last weekend. The NFT sneakers, which aren't physical shoes, are selling for about $6,000 to $9,000 in ether. A company called RTFKT ("artifact"), which Nike bought last year, designs the virtual sneakers. RTFKT previously made the popular Clone X NFT collection, which now sells for about $50,000 per NFT. Nike hasn't announced any plans for physical versions of the NFT sneakers. However, there's a Snapchat filter that uses AR to make the shoes appear on your feet through the lens of a smart device.

Read CNET's full story on Nike's NFT sneakers here.

Hacker takes over Bored Ape Yacht Club Instagram account, steals NFTs worth millions

Nike Sells NFT Sneakers for Thousands. This Week's Top Bitcoin and Crypto News (2)

Bored Ape Yacht Club, one of the better-known and pricier NFT collections, is among the latest to be targeted in an NFT phishing scam. On Monday, a hacker posted a link to the Bored Ape Yacht Club Instagram account, promising a free gift. When people followed the link and connected their crypto wallets, their NFTs were taken. The stolen NFTs were then transferred to a wallet owned by the hacker.

The hacker made off with a couple million dollars in NFTs. (Keep in mind, NFTs are often valued at their last selling price, which doesn't always hold up.) The Verge asked Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, if victims of the hack would be compensated, but Yuga Labs didn't respond.

Read CNET's full story on the Bored Ape Yacht Club Instagram hack here.

The City of Fort Worth decides to mine bitcoin

City officials in Fort Worth, Texas, voted Tuesday to accept three bitcoin mining machines donated from the Texas Blockchain Association, and to launch a bitcoin mining pilot program. The pilot will last six months, and then the city will reevaluate.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has spoken favorably about the cryptocurrency industry in the past, and in February, Abbott said on Twitter that H-E-B stores, a popular Texas supermarket chain, would begin to install in-store cryptocurrency kiosks.

Texas's attitude toward bitcoin mining is in sharp contrast to the fight over bitcoin mining in New York, where the state assembly passed a bill on Tuesday that would put a 2-year moratorium on bitcoin mining in the state, pending an environmental review. The bill will now go to the state senate for consideration.

For reference on bitcoin's energy use, Digiconomist's Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index estimates that the bitcoin network has a carbon footprint comparable to that of the entire Czech Republic.

Read CNET's full story on Fort Worth mining bitcoin here.

Central African Republic votes to make bitcoin legal tender

Nike Sells NFT Sneakers for Thousands. This Week's Top Bitcoin and Crypto News (4)

The Central African Republic passed a bill Tuesday to make bitcoin legal tender in the country, becoming the second nation to do so after El Salvadordid last year. The International Monetary Fund wasn'tsupportive of the move. It had also urged El Salvador against the decision in 2021.

Read CNET's full story on the Central African Republic passing a bill to make bitcoin legal tender.

Fidelity to offer bitcoin option in 401(k) plans by middle of year

Nike Sells NFT Sneakers for Thousands. This Week's Top Bitcoin and Crypto News (5)

Fidelity on Tuesday said it'll allow cryptocurrency into retirement plans starting midyear, making it the first major provider to do so. Employers will decide if they want to offer crypto in their retirement plans, and if so, they'll determine the maximum contribution employees can allocate toward bitcoin, according toThe New York Times.

The US Department of Labor has been critical of Fidelity's decision to include bitcoin in retirement plans. "We have grave concerns with what Fidelity has done," Ali Khawar, acting assistant secretary of the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration, toldThe Wall Street Journal, this week. In response, Fidelity told the Journal that it sees digital assets as "a large part of the financial industry's future."

Read CNET's full story on Fidelity including bitcoin in 401(k) plans here.

Thanks for reading. We'll be back with plenty more next week. In the meantime check out this story by Stephen Shankland on how the metaverse will be a multi-platform mess.

Nike Sells NFT Sneakers for Thousands. This Week's Top Bitcoin and Crypto News (2024)

FAQs

Nike Sells NFT Sneakers for Thousands. This Week's Top Bitcoin and Crypto News? ›

Nike released a collection of 20,000 digital sneakers as NFTs last weekend. The NFT sneakers, which aren't physical shoes, are selling for about $6,000 to $9,000 in ether. A company called RTFKT ("artifact"), which Nike bought last year, designs the virtual sneakers.

Are Nike NFTs worth anything? ›

Quick Take. Nike-RTFKT non-fungible token collections have generated nearly $1.4 billion in trading volume and $170 million in earnings. An event last month where NFT holders could order limited-edition Nike-RTFKT shoes caused trading for the NFTs to leap by more than 600%.

Did Nike sold an NFT sneaker for $134 000? ›

In April, Nike released its first collection of virtual sneakers, called Cryptokicks, which comprised 20,000 NFTs, including one designed by the artist Takashi Murakami that was bought by someone named AliSajwani for $134,000.

Are NFTs still a thing? ›

NFT investing is still extremely risky

NFTs may be entering a new phase, but NFTs and cryptocurrencies are still high-risk investments. The market is in its infancy, and the technology and legal environments are still evolving. Bear in mind that many NFT investors have already lost money.

What are NFT sneakers? ›

NFT sneakers are digital sneakers that can be used in the online world such as Metaverse, which refers to a three-dimensional virtual space, and games . It is gaining popularity as a fashion item for avatars and as a “Move-to-Earn” that allows you to earn virtual currency by wearing it in the NFT game.

How much money has Nike made from NFTs? ›

TLDR: Since December 2021, Nike has earned $185M dollars in NFT sales revenue and generated $1.3B in NFT sales volume. Nike led the pack in brands that launched NFTs as they made 8x more in revenue than the brand having the second greatest revenue (D&G at ~$23M).

How much is a Nike NFT sneaker? ›

The NFTs from this collection have sold for as high as $134,000 (roughly Rs. 1 crore). Nike, which acquired virtual design studio RTFKT last December to accelerate its metaverse and NFT push, has bagged $185.3 million (roughly Rs. 1,478 crore) in NFT sales.

How is Nike using NFTs? ›

Nike's Acquisition of RTFKT

The company has manufactured physical products through so-called “forging events,” where owners of the studio's NFTs can request to have their virtual sneakers made into real ones.

What is Nike doing with NFTs? ›

RTFKT and NIKE launch 'Cryptokicks iRL' sneaker collection

Recently acquired by Nike, the brand has collaborated with its parent company to launch Cryptokicks iRL, a line of futuristic footwear that brings its signature sneaker NFTs to life.

What platform does Nike use for NFT? ›

Swoosh Web3 platform is Nike's ecosystem for virtual wearables and NFT collections.

Why did NFTs fail? ›

Yes, the value of many NFTs has significantly declined following their initial surge. This drop is attributed to various factors, including market saturation, decreased speculative trading, and shifts in the broader economic environment. However, it's important to note that the NFT market is diverse.

Does NFT have a future? ›

As we look ahead to 2023–2024, the world of NFTs is poised for continued growth and innovation. NFT trends will encompass a wide range of strategies and technologies, including metaverse integration, sustainability initiatives, influencer partnerships, and data analytics.

Are NFTs worth anything in 2024? ›

NFTs are poised to be a major driver of Web3 adoption in 2024 – but the successful projects will look very different from what's come before. At the close of 2023, we're seeing a resurgence of interest in NFTs.

Who owns NFT? ›

The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchain and can be transferred by the owner, allowing NFTs to be sold and traded. NFTs can be created by anybody and require few or no coding skills to create. NFTs typically contain references to digital files such as artworks, photos, videos, and audio.

What does an NFT buy you? ›

NFTs are used to secure and transfer ownership of digital items, be it an image, audio, video, documents, avatars, tickets, digital art pieces, virtual worlds, game collectibles, or anything else that can be digitized.

What does NFT use for? ›

Non-fungible tokens use blockchain technology to digitally signify ownership. NFTs may change how you buy a home, get insurance, borrow money, and more. NFTs can be used for many applications beyond collecting digital art.

How do you know if an NFT is worth it? ›

NFT collections are ranked on DappRadar based on a combination of factors that reflect their popularity and activity. These include the number of unique traders interacting with the collection, the trading volume, and the total number of assets in the collection.

Why is Nike selling NFTs? ›

But the sale was just the start of a larger plan to expand Nike's influence into new digital realms, and it illustrates how NFTs can still offer a way for brands to build and connect with a community — if they do it right. Prior to the sale, Nike spent months building awareness and educating its customers about what .

What type of NFTs are the most valuable? ›

10 Most Expensive NFTs of All Time
  • Clock – $52 Million. ...
  • Human One – $28 Million. ...
  • CryptoPunk #5822 – $23 Million. ...
  • CryptoPunk #7523 – $11 Million. ...
  • TPunk #3442 – $10 Million. ...
  • CryptoPunk #4156 – $10 Million. ...
  • CryptoPunk # 5577 – $7 Million. ...
  • CryptoPunk #3100 – $7 Million.
Feb 5, 2024

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