adidas Steps Into the Metaverse With Debut NFT Collection
Thought adidas' purchase of a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT and investment in The Sandbox were to be the Three Stripes' only explorations of the Metaverse? Nope: the German company is going all the way in with a collaborative set of adidas Originals NFTs.
Co-created with Bored Ape Yacht Club, gmoney, and PUNKS Comic, adidas' NFTs launch on December 17 via adidas' Metaverse page.
Though adidas hasn't specified what the NFTs themselves will actually look like yet, which seems odd, it has confirmed that each NFT will cost 0.2 ETH, about $812 at current exchange rates, and they'll grant owners myriad benefits.
For instance, adidas Originals' NFT line is tied to a a Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP) that grants owners access to "exclusive content" in The Sandbox, a virtual Metaverse game, "and other platforms," according to a press release.
adidas NFT owners will also be tied to series of digital garments that owners' avatars will be able to wear around adidas' plot of land within The Sandbox, with all digital assets secured by Coinbase.
Better than just being a .JPG with arbitrary dollar value, I suppose.
But wait, there's more: adidas will also provide its NFT owners with corresponding apparel: a hoodie, tracksuit, and the orange beanie worn by gmoney's crypto ape avatar. You too can dress like a pixelized monkey!
On top of all that, adidas is also sponsoring the next PUNKS Comic issue, fitting Indigo Herz — the Bored Ape NFT that adidas owns — gmoney, and CryptoPunk Courtney in adidas tracksuits and sneakers.
I must stop here to acknowledge that this PUNKS comic looks terribly uncool.
It follows in the tradition of tragically lame licensed comic books but with Cryptopunks in place of Hostess snack cakes or Colonel Sanders and its own complicated blockchain valuation.
"It’s so refreshing to see a culturally influential brand like adidas Originals work so closely hand-in-hand with the NFT community," said gmoney.
"At every step, they’ve included the right partners from the crypto, Metaverse and NFT community and listened to their thoughts at an early stage."
On one hand, kudos to adidas for exploring an unfamiliar terrain in partnership with creatives that are better versed in the realm than itself. It's a moneymaking opportunity, to be sure, but at least adidas is working with the folks directly involved with the community.
Keep in mind that Nike's leap into the Metaverse was the wholesale acquisition of RTFKT, so the two sportswear giants are clearly looking to get in deep as quickly as possible.
On the other hand, I can't shake my trepidation over NFTs. There's so much potential in the medium, to be sure, but cartoon apes wearing streetwear and arbitrary $800 valuations on digital garments? I dunno.
Cheers to all getting a head start on exploring the Metaverse together but I'm happy to be left behind for now.
