adidas and Nike Step Up Their Web3 Game | Decentralized Arts
Dear Bankless Nation,
At the outset of the Bankless movement, we were charged to develop onramps to crypto—via education and media—to ease the transition for most users away from fiat. It was the initial dream to onboard one billion people to crypto that paved the way for BanklessDAO to come into being. And while we’re heads down building and creating software and content to ease the transition from fiat to crypto, we will ultimately not be solely responsible for onboarding one billion people into crypto.
Brands will.
DAOs and crypto protocols are at work creating the rails and software that make operating on blockchain technology possible in innumerable ways, and what we’re building will help facilitate adoption. However, what we’re witnessing, in terms of adoption, are brands taking on the tech, modifying the software to fit their particular vision, and deploying their programs to better engage their audiences and communities. And it’s these programs that are bringing in newcomers to crypto in droves.
From Reddit’s Collectible Avatars to Starbucks’ Odyssey Rewards Program, brands will drive engagement and adoption of crypto technology in ways we couldn’t have imagined a year ago, let alone at the outset of crypto. What was once a protocol for producing art on blockchains, NFTs are making mass adoption viable by way of their utility.
And those of us working in web3 are making this possible.
As a result of this work, brands like adidas and Nike are well beyond their initial steps into the metaverse and have started running. Kouros and Kaf bring us the detail around the evolution of these two brands’ metaversal development.
Yuga Labs is bringing a new spin on decentralized art, juxtaposing elements of their projects with traditional fine art. The time-hopping DustyEye group brings us to the awareness of pluritime travelers. For American readers, The Rug brings us tips on how web3 builders can survive Thanksgiving, and Perchy drops another peek into the Chippi Corner.
Welcome to Decentralized Arts.
Contributors: BanklessDAO Writers Guild (Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, Frank America)
This is the official NFT newsletter of BanklessDAO. If you were a Premium Member of the Bankless Newsletter as of May 1st, 2021, you have been subscribed to this newsletter at launch. To unsubscribe, edit your settings here.
Curated NFT News
Adidas Launches ‘Virtual Gear’ NFT Wearables
According to a recent announcement: ”adidas Originals has unveiled their first NFT collection of wearables on adidas.com/metaverse.” This represents a new product category for the apparel company they’ve dubbed “Virtual Gear” – an interoperable NFT fashion experience.
The 16 piece limited edition collection is interoperable, meaning it can be ported across different metaverses.
The collection is available to owners of the adidas Originals: Capsule NFT that launched in May. Holders will need to burn their Capsule NFTs in order to replace them with the wearable NFTs. For non-holders, the collection is available in the secondary market across NFT marketplaces.
Nic Galway, Senior VP of Creative Direction for adidas Originals added, “As a brand, adidas has always been about exploring the edges of creativity and pushing the boundaries to find what’s beyond. But Web3 offers our designers and collaborators a new outlet to imagine, and reimagine, how our brand can be represented in augmented and virtual worlds. Creatively, we’re extremely proud to say that this virtual collection represents more than just a historic first for adidas. It also represents an idea of wearable clothing that can transcend time and space, a community that is vividly diverse, and a level of utility that can be explored and even discovered as worlds and avatars take new forms.”
Yuga Labs introduces the Punks Legacy Project
Yuga Labs has announced a new initiative called the Punks Legacy Project. The goal is to house the Punks artwork next to some of the greatest fine art in the world.
The project will oversee the donation and installation of several CryptoPunks to leading contemporary art museums around the world, and will collaborate with those museums on the installation of the art by offering resources regarding Web3 education, crypto art history, crypto security, and NFT best practices
Yuga Labs is starting this scheme by donating CryptoPunk#305 to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami on December 2nd.
The Rug Weekly NFT
Top 10 Ways To Gaslight Your Family Into Forgetting What You Said About Crypto Last Thanksgiving
Brought to you by The Rug
Well it’s Thanksgiving time and a lot people are traveling home to their loved ones. The Rug thought we’d whip up a list of things you can say to distract them from the fact that you adamantly suggested they all purchase crypto at all time highs last year.
Take the mental health angle and mention that your therapist recommended that you don’t talk about it. “My therapist thinks it’s best for me if I don’t discuss this, you understand.”
Collect this suggestion, along with the rest, as an NFT on optimism.
Nike Keeps Focusing on the Future
Nike announces its biggest web3 project to date: .SWOOSH
By Kaf
The possibilities offered by Web3 increase as more people join this space. Like all technological innovation, it takes time. We spend more and more time online and that is why digital identity and ownership is the next natural step.
The “big players” in fashion have already ventured into blockchain technology. Adidas, Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, etc. With the acquisition of RFTK and its latest announcement, Nike is standing out from the rest.
Nike's First Steps in Web3
In December of last year, Nike acquired RTFKT Studios, a digital art studio focused on sneaker-themed NFTs and collectibles.
The union of these companies resulted in the creation of "RTFKT x Nike Dunk Genesis CryptoKicks" which were distributed as portable digital items designed to be used across the different metaverses.
According to public blockchain data aggregated through Dune, Nike has generated 93 million USD in primary NFT sales and another 92 million USD in NFT trade royalties.
Now Nike is aiming to step up its efforts with the launch of a new platform. “.SWOOSH” will be the epicenter of Nike's web3 explorations. It will enable future clientele to become co-creators and transact digital product royalties.
What is .SWOOSH?
On November 14 Nike announced the launch of its new web3 platform called .SWOOSH.
According to Nike's statement, .SWOOSH is the “home for Nike's virtual creations … which are typically interactive digital objects, such as virtual shoes or jerseys, that community members will soon be able to wear in digital games and immersive experiences.”
Nike is building the platform first and foremost by targeting consumer pain points around NFTs. Currently one of the problems is education. The process of creating your first wallet and making decentralized transactions can be complex and overwhelming for the insider. That's why Nike is trying to build a family-friendly approach to web3 shopping.
Furthermore, Nike plans to leverage the platform as a distribution point for avatar-wearable clothing, including avatar shirts and shoes. Users will also have access to practical benefits like exclusive athletic gear or discussions with experts.
While the exact mechanics are still being worked out, the platform is going to allow voting so users can decide on the future of the designs.
Winners of community challenges will have the opportunity to collaborate on the creation of new virtual goods and receive royalties. People will be allowed to make their own websites using the .nike domain, such as kafwritesoncrypto.nike, to prominently advertise and sell their goods.
For those interested in digital fashion, this creates a whole new universe.
Through RTFKT, Nike has raised 1.29 million USD in secondary royalties, suggesting that this move by Nike is an attractive twist that favors the community and encourages users to be engaged and creative.
The Nike .SWOOSH platform is currently in an invite-only beta phase, but it will be interesting to see what happens next. Nike says it will introduce the first virtual products on the platform in January 2023.
Nike Virtual Studios
Nike Virtual Studios has a unique design team focused solely on creating virtual Nike products.
This unique division is a separate entity within Nike, whose central goal is to develop the Nike brand across web3. It is also independent of RTFKT, with which it will continue to collaborate closely.
.SWOOSH is led by Ron Faris, head of Nike's new Virtual Studios division and vice president who has spent the past seven years running Nike's SNKRS app.
In a Twitter thread, a representative for RTFKT clarified that the studio is not overseeing the .SWOOSH, but is assisting Nike in a move that expands to web3.
Final Thoughts
Virtual ownership of a virtual good is a way to support artists, get additional content, and participate in a cultural community. NFTs make this all possible.
Nike is intentionally releasing .SWOOSH at a snail's pace. While the website is live, users will not be able to register an account until November 18. Community design challenges and other content won't arrive until December. And then the first collection won't be released until early 2023. During this slow onboarding process, the company hopes to educate customers on how it all works, while also sending invites to a diverse group of creators, so the community can grow into a positive and inclusive community.
Nike NFT clothing will be minted on Polygon, which shows once again that the big companies trust the Ethereum L2s. Polygon continues to achieve strong market adoption. According to Polygon's latest announcement, the network experienced massive growth in 2022 alone.
As one of the most prevalent brands in the world, this is a great time for the web3 space. Hopefully it will also encourage other companies to adopt web3 technology.
Chippi Corner
By Perchy
Maxtor
A Call to Action
Illustrated by GIORGIO FINAMORE
According to the annals of Pluritime, it was February 3 of the year 2379 when Maxtor, a specimen of the Canis lupus familiaris species, merged his consciousness with an advanced machinic intelligence.
The hybridization gave Maxtor the rare ability to move in Pluritime, freeing itself from a linear existence on the leash of the law of cause / effect.
The group of chrono-wayfarers, DustyEye, with the help of Moscabianca Editions, has decided to track down Maxtor, or at least to shed light on the events that have taken place since the late 24th century, a moment in which the cybercane lost their tracks. Despite some experience in terms of chronobumps, the task is proving to be more difficult than expected.
Early reports describe Maxtor as a docile half-breed of medium size and black fur, except for a sprinkle of white on the muzzle, belly, and tips of the legs.
As distinctive features: a cybernetic eye and a transceiver device installed at the base of the neck. Is it an olfactory antenna? A sensory parable? Or simply a telekinetic parabolic antenna?
Regarding the unusual technique adopted by Maxtor to move into the Pluritempo, we can describe it as a dimensional subtraction, a process better known as lineification.
From a solid shape, Maxtor takes on the appearance of a two-dimensional hardcover, then even the top is reduced to a line that only outlines its outlines. To close the process, the line converges towards a single point. And the point, as a point, is dimensionless.
This geometric lightness gives it full freedom to move through Time and Space and to regain solidity where it wishes. This means that Maxtor can appear in any place and any era.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
______________________
WEB: www.DustyEye.com
IG: @DustyEye_DE
TWITTER: @Dusty_Eye
Meme
A small joke contributed by The Rug.
Postscript
Decentralized Arts is written and produced by a small team of contributors who are passionate about art, both visual and written, and its growing place in crypto and NFTs. With each edition, we aim to bring you not only the most current and relevant news in the NFT space, but also explorations in what it means for our culture and societies for this market to continue to grow and expand. When everyone is an owner of art, we all gain a deeper appreciation for it.
With great appreciation for you, we thank you for reading and subscribing to Decentralized Arts.
Cordially,
Grendel, Kouros, Kaf, nonsensetwice, and Frank America