Nike Unveils First Swoosh NFT Digital Sneaker Drop

Nike is offering its first NFT drop on its. Swoosh Web3 community platform, months after establishing its.Swoosh Web3 platform.  Our Force 1 (OF1) will be a series of Polygon virtual sneaker NFTs meant to pay homage to the classic Nike Air Force 1 sneaker from 41 years ago. The drop will include two types: Classic Remix sneaker boxes, which will have virtual kicks riffing on Air Force 1 sneaker published between 1982 and 2006, and New Wave boxes, which will include pairs designed in 2007 and beyond.

Among the Classic Remix boxes will be an unspecified number of more unique, modified AF1s with a “nostalgic twist.” Similarly to the New Wave boxes, there will be personalized, expressive AF1s with a more “futuristic twist.”  All virtual shoe boxes will cost $19.82 USD, a reference to the year the Air Force 1 was released. Nike will not accept Bitcoin payments for the NFTs. 

There does not appear to be a cap on the quantity of Our Force 1 NFTs that may be minted. Nike will begin airdropping virtual AF1 posters—the key to unlocking an OF1 box NFT—to randomly selected people tomorrow. Members of the Swoosh. On May 8, those members will be allowed to start minting OF1 boxes. The entire. Swoosh community will be able to acquire OF1 boxes two days later, on May 10.

According to Nike, there are presently over 330,000.Swoosh members. Anyone may join the platform at no cost. Details regarding which specific pairs of virtual shoes enthusiastic holders would receive appear to have been purposely withheld.  Nike revealed in February that four virtual shoe concepts created by.Swoosh members will be featured in the OF1 launch. Nike designers have since collaborated with those community members to bring the concepts to life on the blockchain. These fan-created designs will also be distributed at random among both sorts of boxes.

“We are exploring new ways to tell stories and create relationships while removing the barriers and limitations of physical product,” said Ron Faris, GM of Nike Virtual Studios. “With more members choosing to express themselves across both the physical and digital worlds,.Swoosh is the marketplace of the future.” According to Nike, the OF1 boxes will unlock more utilities and benefits for customers in the near future, including access to special physical items and experiences. 

Nike’s initial push into the digital shoe market was with the OF1 line. Last spring, Nike unveiled CryptoKicks, Ethereum-based digital shoe NFT wearables created in conjunction with RTFKT, the NFT sneaker studio that Nike bought in late 2021. Pairs of CryptoKicks, which were initially airdropped to holders of other rare RTFKT NFTs, suddenly began fetching prices well over $14,000. 

Nike appears to be taking a more equitable stance here by providing so many OF1 NFTs at such a low — and fixed — pricing point. This strategy, along with the project’s feature of community engagement, appears to be intended to favor community participation in.Swoosh over earning rapid returns in NFT money. In recent months, attempts by other prominent companies that appear to be primarily focused on the latter have backfired.