Nfts
Adidas and Stepn Partner to Create NFT Sneakers
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Dive summary:
- Adidas has partnered with Stepna money-making mobile app, will launch a limited-edition, non-fungible tokenized sneaker collection, according to a press release Monday.
- The Stepn x Adidas Genesis sneaker collection features 1,000 digital items inspired by Adidas running models. The NFT collection will be the first in a series of multiple co-branded activities over the course of a year-long partnership between the two companies, which will include additional NFT launches and physical, wearable items.
- The shoe collection will launch via Stepn’s sister marketplace, Mooar, starting Wednesday via a two-phase raffle. The NFT collection is built on Solana and will be priced in Stepn’s currency, GMT tokens.
Dive Overview:
With its collaboration with Stepn, Adidas is diving deeper into NFTs.
Early 2022, Adidas teams up with Prada to launch an NFT project to promote the Adidas for Prada Re-Nylon collection. Later that year, the athletics brand created a new product category for virtual gear. The company at the time launched its first NFT digital clothing collectiona 16-piece line featuring limited edition products from Bored Ape Yacht Club, Gmoney and Punks Comics.
Stepn, which launched in 2021 with the aim of encouraging exercise through rewards, said it has amassed 5 million registered users. Its collaboration with Adidas is part of its efforts to grow the “move-to-earn” market, according to the press release.
“This collaboration between Stepn and Adidas underscores the power of being able to move and earn in both the virtual and real worlds,” Shiti Manghani, CEO of Stepn by FSL, said in a statement. “The fact that such a physical and digital – or ‘phygital’ – partnership between the most widely used lifestyle app and a global brand like Adidas is now a reality signals the direction lifestyle rewards is heading.”
But as Adidas has invested more in NFTs, other retailers have exited the market. Earlier this year, GameStop announced plans to exit its NFT marketplaceciting “continued regulatory uncertainty in the cryptocurrency sector.”
Meanwhile, NFT trading has fallen sharply recentlyThe number of NFTs created on the Solana blockchain, that is, newly minted NFTs, has fallen to around 15,000 as of April 15, from a peak of around 350,000 in December 2023, according to The blockOverall, the NFT market has fallen from its August 2021 peak of $3.24 billion in trading volume to $75.8 million the week of April 14, according to The Block’s analysis of Cryptoslam data.