Nike to Launch Web3 Wearable Platform .Swoosh, Project Currently in Beta

Popular sports brand Nike has developed its own web3 wearables platform called .Swoosh (pronounced “dot Swoosh”). The brand is one of the adopters of Web3 and arguably one of the most successful traditional brands in the space. .Swoosh will allow fans to collect and co-create digital items with Nike. The patent platform is currently in beta testing, and .Swoosh will unveil its first digital collective in 2023. Meanwhile, Polygon has announced the future release of digital apparel for RTFKT’s CloneX NFT avatars. According to the company, community members will wear these virtual items during digital games and immersive experiences.

The General Manager of Nike Virtual Studios, Ron Faris, is leading the .Swoosh project. He has spent over seven years leading Nike’s SNKRS app, which controls the limited sneakers edition. He stated:

“We are shaping a marketplace of the future with an accessible platform for the web3-curious. In this new space, the .Swoosh community and Nike can create, share, and benefit together. We know we’re not just targeting Web3 natives, we’re targeting a more Web3-curious audience, people afraid to [buy NFTs] because it’s too confusing or hard.”

Without mincing words, Nike has recorded enormous success on the Web3 interface. In November 2021, Nike launched an experience on Roblox, the ever-growing game platform. The experience attracted over 26 million visits. Subsequently, Nike purchased NFT studio RTFKT and has been releasing different collections since then. Nike’s first digital sneakers, the RTFKT x Nike Dunk Genesis CryptoKicks, sold for $134000. The CryptoKicks collection featured over 20000 virtual sneakers.

Will Nike Succeed with Its Web3 .Swoosh Project?

According to data from Dune Analytics, Nike tops the consolidated brands’ table with over $185 million in total NFT revenue. The brand made $93.1 million from primary sales and $92.91 million from royalties. The sports brand made more sales than Dolce & Gabbana, Tiffany, Gucci, Adidas, and eight other brands.

Nike sets to open user registration for .Swoosh later this week. The company plans to sell its NFT apparel on the Polygon chain instead of the accustomed Ethereum network. There are suggestions that Nike should sell its upcoming digital sneakers for less than $50 a pair. A representative from RTFKT has tweeted that the studio is not building the .Swoosh platform for Nike. The source added the studio is deeply rooting for Nike’s further expansion in Web3.

In May, Nike purchased the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) name dotswoosh.eth for approximately $35,000 worth of ETH. An ENS name leads users to a specific wallet or website. Faris stated the reason Nike ditched the traditional use of the .com domain for .Swoosh.

“If you own your own domain, you host all the links. The number one reason people get scammed is you post a fake link..but if we own the link, it’s a good first defense to protect [users],” said he.