Adidas and Stepn move from NFTs to physical products with planned sneaker drop this month

Companies • December 5, 2024, 7:01AM EST
The Block

Quick Take

  • Adidas and its blockchain partner Stepn announced they will be dropping a collection of 1,200 physical shoes.

Shoe and sports apparel giant Adidas and its blockchain partner Stepn announced on Thursday that they will drop a limited number of physical shoes.

The move follows April's announcement that Adidas and the Solana-based fitness app Stepn had partnered to release 1,000 NFTs, which made up the Stepn x Adidas Genesis Sneakers collection. Later this month, the two companies will make available a "limited-edition collection of 1,200 physical Adidas Ultraboost 5 running shoes," Stepn said in a statement. 

"The launch of physical shoes is a defining moment in our partnership with Adidas," Stepn CEO Shiti Manghani said in the statement. "We’ve moved from digital collectibles to tangible products that people can wear, showing just how far the web3 space has evolved."

Adidas and Stepn's plan to release a tangible product follows the Nike-owned digital wearables NFT startup firm RTFKT's announcement that it is closing its doors. With its more than two dozen collections, RTFKT earned nearly $50 million in lifetime earnings and over $45 million in royalties. According to The Block Research data, the total trading volume for RTFKT non-fungible tokens generated around $1.5 billion in trading volume. 
 
"We’re thrilled to offer a new digital experience for runners at the forefront of this exciting new era,” said Adidas vice president Erika Wykes-Sneyd. "This collaboration not only brings a fresh way to engage with fitness but also introduces rewarding experiences that push the boundaries of what’s possible in both the physical and digital worlds."
 
The Adidas-Stepn shoes will only be available on the MOOAR marketplace.
 
About a year ago, Adidas and luxury carmaker Bugatti teamed up to auction a limited number of soccer shoes that will have a digital twin.

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AUTHOR

RT Watson profile picture RT Watson

RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.

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