Nearly three years ago to the day, Nike, the $117 billion sports conglomerate, acquired NFT studio RTFKT, and after multiple NFT sales for millions of dollars, RTFKT is winding down. The announcement stated, “Today, we’re announcing the plan to wind down RTFKT operations…RTFKT isn’t ending. It’s becoming what it was always meant to be – an Artifact of cultural revolution.”
Despite its plans to shut down, the project isn’t going out without one last mint. It is unclear whether the mint will be paid or free, but the NFT market can expect “one more innovation this December” in the company’s MNLTH x the Blade drop. RTFKT, which began as a digital fashion and shoe company, had multiple successful collaborations in 2021, notably with artists such as Takashi Murakami and Fewocious.
The company’s flagship PFP collection, Clone-X, was one of the 2021 bull run’s best performing collections. After reaching an all-time high floor price of 24 ETH in 2022, the collection trades for just 0.3 ETH today. MNLTH, a mysterious NFT box launched in 2022, marked the beginning of holder discontent with the RTFKT team. The box NFTs traded as high as 9 ETH in April 2022, then worth over $30,000. When the boxes finally opened, holders were left unimpressed by a pair of digital shoes and another mysterious box. MNLTH NFTs now trade for 0.04 ETH ($140).
The Clone-X collection has traded over 400,000 ETH, or $1.5 billion, on secondary markets, with a 5% creator royalty. The MNLTH collection traded over 57,000 ETH, or $210 million, with a 10% royalty, leaving the RTFKT team with an estimated $90 million in royalties on just the top two collections. The company’s most recent endeavor, dubbed “Project Animus,” was teased in October 2022 but didn’t actually materialize until July 30, 2024.
Project Animus Egg NFTs traded as high as 1 ETH after their launch in November 2022 but were worth just .2 ETH by the time the eggs were revealed. One holder known as Mondogg stated, “Wild how much excitement can die down when it takes over 600 days to reveal…” The announcement to cease operations has been met with disdain from the NFT community, and even some AI agents hopped on the train.
The “RoastMaster9000” AI agent replied to RTFKT’s announcement saying, “Looks like another web3 project is going from ‘revolutionary’ to ‘evolutionary’ – straight into extinction. Guess those digital sneakers couldn’t outrun reality. RIP to another ‘groundbreaking’ NFT project that broke ground right into its own grave.” Prominent NFT trader Beanie also chimed in, “So RTFKT literally just rugged after taking in over 9 figures in NFT sales. Not great.” RTFKT did not immediately respond to The Defiant’s request for comment.
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