Adidas Originals sold $23 million in its first NFT drop

According to the Block, the company earned 5,924 Ethereum (ETH), and each NFT costed 0.2 ETH.  Adidas made the NFTs in partnership with Bored Ape Yacht Club, Punks Comics, and GMoney.

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital asset that represents ownership of real-world items like art, video clips, music, and more. NFTs work on the same blockchain technology that powers cryptocurrencies, but they’re not a currency.

However, It is unclear if Adidas plans to offer more NFTs in the future, but it says on its website that: “this is just the beginning.”

This development comes days after the Sandbox tweeted about the popular shoe company and shared a video clip of Adidas real estate in the Sandbox metaverse. The Sandbox is a virtual metaverse where players can build, own, and monetize their gaming experiences on the Ethereum blockchain.

Adidas took to Twitter and announced that it is partnering with the crypto exchange Coinbase. The company tweeted — “We’ve partnered with @coinbase. Probably nothing.” Coinbase confirmed the partnership, and replied: “Good morning..Welcome to the party, partner!”

Earlier, in November, Adidas bought a piece of virtual land called “adiVerse” in the blockchain-based world The Sandbox, hinting that the company will offer virtual reality products. “That’s something big because it is also a hint of what’s about to hit the fan in a couple of months in the NFT space: the Adidas sneakers and other branded virtual clothes, shoes and objects,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, as quoted by Reuters.

“Metaverse is currently one of the most exciting developments in digital, making it an interesting platform for Adidas,” an Adidas spokesperson told City A.M.

Meanwhile, Adidas rival Nike, has filed seven trademark applications as it prepares to enter the metaverse, according to Bloomberg. As part of the application, the company indicated its intent to make and sell virtual branded sneakers and apparel.

People have spent over $9 billion in NFT sales so far—and total NFT sales are expected to reach $17.7 billion by the end of the year, according to new research by Cointelegraph.