Non-fungible token (NFT) collections by sportswear giant Nike and virtual sneakers and collectibles creator RTFKT have seen $170 million in earnings and a whopping $1.4 billion in trading volume.

There are two notable factors to keep in mind. One, Nike and RTFKT have joined hands less than two years ago. Two, most of this time, the crypto market was covered in snow.

And yet, the duo’s collections flourished.

The Block Research first found that since December 2021, these NFTs amassed nearly $1.4 billion in trading volume, and the collections together earned $170 million.

According to the data provided by DeFi Llama, RTFKT recorded $27,537 in 30 days, $45.92 million in total loyalty earnings, and $50.07 million in total lifetime earnings.

The CloneX-Takashi Murakami avatar collection sits in the 4th place by NFT earnings with $81.31 million in mint earnings, $37.68 million in royalty earnings to date, and $118.98 million in total lifetime earnings.

RTFKT, ranked 9th by earnings, has 25 collections listed under its name. The top one is ‘RTFKT – MNLTH,’ earning $16.39 million.

According to The Block Research, CloneX’s success – during a bull run – brought in most of the money. It alone saw nearly a billion dollars in volume.

However, other collections boast high numbers as well.

RTFKT – MNLTH follows CloneX with nearly $166 million. RTFKT – CloneX Mintvial is the third by volume with $135.4 million.

These are quite significant numbers given that the market at large has been struggling during a prolonged winter.

When Nike Met RTFKT

Nike acquired RTFKT in December 2021. Its plan was to create NFTs and sneakers for the metaverse.

By September 2022, the company raked in over $185 million from the sale of its NFTs and received over $93 million in royalties.

Prior to the acquisition, the firm partnered with artist Fewocious and released three virtual sneaker designs, netting $3.1 million at the time.

It also partnered with the game company Atari to launch a limited Atari-themed fashion NFT series for multiple multiplayer blockchain games, including Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Atari Metaverse.

The startup also worked with CryptoPunks creator LarvaLabs and artist Takashi Murakami.

As for Nike, the company filed seven patents that showed plans to make and sell virtual footwear and apparel in 2021.

The acquisition of RTFKT came a month after it had unveiled its 3D virtual space, Nikeland. Within five months of its launch, Nikeland amassed seven million visitors.

A year later, in November 2022, Nike launched .SWOOSH, a Web3 platform featuring virtual apparel for avatars.

The platform ran into some early technical issues and delays. The NFT sale for selected users began on May 15 and for the general public on May 24, 2023. And by May 26, it generated more than $1 million in sales.

And Nike is not slowing down. In June, it hinted at the possibility of launching a collection of sneaker-themed NFTs within the popular game Fortnite.

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