Sneakers Are the New Gold

TL;DR

• The latest Nike x RTFKT sneakers come paired with an NFT.

• These 'sneaker + NFT' combinations lay the groundwork for a global sneaker marketplace, where the sneakers are essentially paper traded via NFTs.

• Paper trading would make this process a whole lot easier/faster (and the easier/faster something is, the more people will do it → the more people do it, the larger the market becomes).

Full Story

Gold is cool and all...

But have you ever tried to transport, store, and secure a large amount of it?

Yeah, neither. But we imagine it'd be a hassle.

That's why paper trading exists: you essentially buy an IOU for a chunk of gold (which is stored securely elsewhere), then sell the IOU when you're done.

Never to see the actual gold.

And weirdly enough, we think we're about to see a similar universal system form in the sneaker market.

The latest Nike x RTFKT sneakers come paired with an ​NFT​ - which, on the surface, might feel a little gimmicky...

We've been wearing/collecting sneakers for decades without the need for a digital certificate of ownership.

What's cool about it, is this:

These 'sneaker + NFT' combinations lay the groundwork for a global sneaker marketplace, where the sneakers are essentially paper traded via NFTs.

The more we think about it, the more it makes sense - because there's already a $10B+ global market built around sneaker reselling.

Only problem is: every trade requires both parties to organize the transport, storage, and security of the product.

Paper trading would make this process a whole lot easier/faster.

(And the easier/faster something is, the more people will do it → the more people do it, the larger the market becomes).

Neat!