Adidas has launched a foray into cryptocurrency, partnering with Coinbase and metaverse playground The Sandbox this week. The acquisitions, which have so far been kept under wraps, immerse the big fashion company in its first major venture into crypto and blockchain technology.
The move is expected to be Adidas’ first foray into ‘metaverse clothes,’ a growing issue primarily pursued by high fashion firms thus far. A tweet from the Adidas Originals account hinted at what’s to come, but no specifics have appeared yet.
We’ve partnered with @coinbase.
Probably nothing.— adidas Originals (@adidasoriginals) November 24, 2021
However, considering Coinbase’s recent move to focus intensively on NFTs, our team believes that the scope of this relationship will most likely be centered on NFTs. Intellectual property in NFTs has been a source of heated debate in the crypto community.
Individuals are prepared to pay a premium for brand names in real life. Don’t be shocked if this holds in the metaverse as well. Depending on the distribution plan, even modest Adidas memorabilia might cost a premium.
Early sources speculated that the relationship between Coinbase and Adidas might also be centered in payments, possibly introducing some crypto payment integration to the Adidas retail environment.
The Coinbase announcement was preceded by a recent Sandbox tweet that linked to a 144-parcel Adidas Originals spot on The Sandbox. The 144 plots rapidly commanded prices north of 400 ETH – around $1.7M.
This follows a record $2.4M purchase of a virtual real estate property on Decentraland. The whales have made their way inside the chamber.
Hey @adidasoriginals, impossible is nothing in the Metaverse. What if we invite all of the original thinkers and do-ers to design our future together?https://t.co/xQrfAWHBky pic.twitter.com/fTCaqf6fho
— The Sandbox (@TheSandboxGame) November 22, 2021
Adidas’ move always lags behind that of Nike, which recently teamed with Roblox on virtual branding branded ‘NIKELAND.’ Nike also has a long history with patents, including numerous recent petitions with the United States Patent and Trademark Office that imply the company may be expanding its footprint in NFTs and the metaverse. In late 2019, the largest sports gear business obtained a patent for “CryptoKicks.”
Tokens such as MANA (Decentraland) and SAND (The Sandbox) have seen significant price increases in the last week or two due to metaverse discourse and brand engagement.
