Nike-owned NFT Wearables Startup RTFKT is Winding Down (theblock.co)
(Monday December 02, 2024 @11:45PM (msmash)
from the end-of-road dept.)
- Reference: 0175582551
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/24/12/02/2331235/nike-owned-nft-wearables-startup-rtfkt-is-winding-down
- Source link: https://www.theblock.co/post/329097/nike-owned-nft-wearables-startup-rtfkt-is-winding-down
RTFKT, the NFT project most known for its attempt at making "digital shoes" a thing, is [1]shutting down , according to a statement on Monday. From a report:
> The project, acquired by athletic wear juggernaut Nike in 2021 for an undisclosed sum, plans to fully unwind by the end of January, though its Ethereum-based tokens will remain accessible.
>
> Launched in 2020 amid the beginnings of the mania around NFTs and the metaverse, RTFKT quickly garnered a reputation as a fast-moving startup. It spun up "drops" with brands, including Nike, and collaborated with the likes of sneaker designer Jeff Staple and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
[1] https://www.theblock.co/post/329097/nike-owned-nft-wearables-startup-rtfkt-is-winding-down
> The project, acquired by athletic wear juggernaut Nike in 2021 for an undisclosed sum, plans to fully unwind by the end of January, though its Ethereum-based tokens will remain accessible.
>
> Launched in 2020 amid the beginnings of the mania around NFTs and the metaverse, RTFKT quickly garnered a reputation as a fast-moving startup. It spun up "drops" with brands, including Nike, and collaborated with the likes of sneaker designer Jeff Staple and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
[1] https://www.theblock.co/post/329097/nike-owned-nft-wearables-startup-rtfkt-is-winding-down
Luckily my ugly monkeys are still worth billions (Score:2)
by thesjaakspoiler ( 4782965 )
So glad I spend my life savings on a bunch of NFT of pictures of ugly monkeys of which I don't even own the actual picture.
I guess a QR code of the NFT above my couch will do.
A what what shoe? (Score:2)
by RightwingNutjob ( 1302813 )
Back in my day, ghetto boys would shoot a man dead over plain old analog Nike shoes. None of this nft horseshit the kids are jabbering on about these days.
Re: A what what shoe? (Score:2)
by vbdasc ( 146051 )
You see? A pair of digital shoes would save you from being killed. It has a value after all.
"Mania"? (Score:2)
by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 )
For sufficiently loose definitions of "mania", I guess...
What does the KT stand for? (Score:2)
by rossdee ( 243626 )
Read The Fscking what?
It was a tax scam (Score:3)
In America there was a tax scam around art.
The way it worked was rich people bought an "art" piece for $1m, suddenly that meant there was a market for said art piece and therefore it was worth $3m, you then donate said art piece to a "foundation" and write $3m off on your taxes. At top of tax bracket this saves you about $1.5m on your taxes, so a net gain of $500k for basically no work.
The IRS closed that loophole, and those rich ***holes thought they'd maneuver NFTs through it. The IRS said "It's still art guys, so no you can't do that either" and as soon as they did the NFT market collapsed.
Re:It was a tax scam (Score:4, Interesting)
It's more likely that most of it was just wash trading to pump Ethereum. I.e. someone mints an NFT, puts it on a marketplace, and then buys it from himself. List it for sale again, rinse and repeat. This creates the appearance that there's actually a demand for these things and people not in on the scam start buying up Ethereum in order to mint their own NFTs.
It all collapsed once people realized there's no real buyers, which might make the whole thing seem rather pointless except that minting a NFT actually burns Ethereum. The conversion into a NFT is a one-way process. So, NFTs were ultimately just an elaborate scheme to create deflationary pressure on Ethereum and reward the HODLers. Considering that one ETH is currently trading at $3.6K, the scheme seems to have worked.