We welcome 33 new subscribers to the Sporting Crypto Newsletter who have joined us over the last week! You’re part of a 1.59% week-on-week increase in Sporting Crypto subscribers!

Join 2106 readers who are interested in exploring where Sports meets Crypto. If you're reading this and still haven't signed up, click the 'Subscribe' button below to join sports industry leaders and fans learning about Web3!

If you’re already subbed - thank you very much. Please be sure to share the newsletter with your friends and colleagues!

Intro Notes, Plugs & Amendments 🔌🔧

Whilst the FTX saga continues to unfold, it seems brands operating in this world are unwavering in their pursuit to create robust Web3 strategies.

Against as tumultuous a backdrop as I’ve ever seen in crypto, there are big moves being made. In sports, but also more broadly.

It says a lot that I had potentially 3-to-4 things to write about as a deep dive in this specific newsletter. The news just doesn’t stop.

🔌 If you’d like to work together in a consultancy or workshop capacity, please respond to this email!

🔌 If you’d like to partner or sponsor the newsletter, email back at this address or reach out on Twitter or LinkedIn.

🔌 If you would like me to come to an event and speak about Sports & Crypto / NFTs, please reach out on the above platforms or reply to this email.

This Week’s Deep Dive: Nike Launch Web3 Platform Dot Swoosh

The most successful mainstream brand in Web3 is without a doubt, Nike.

That’s mostly thanks to their acquisition of NFT studio RTFKT in late 2021 for an undisclosed fee.

Since then, Nike have generated almost $200m in revenue from digital products in primary and secondary sales.

And whilst RTFKT have been the pillar in almost all of Nike’s Web3 activity to date, their latest announcement shows just how serious the sportswear brand are about this space more broadly.

Nike have launched a Web3 platform. 

It’s called Dot Swoosh (or .Swoosh)

The site was stealth dropped in April 2022 and was found by crypto and sportswear community sleuths deep in the weeds when it comes to fashion and digital collectables.

Dot Swoosh was secretive and still has some mystique surrounding it - with Nike embedding QR codes in their 50th-anniversary advert, a few months ago, to help divert traffic in an organic way.

Nike’s RTFTK acquisition marked a huge watershed moment for NFTs.

Now, Dot Swoosh presents another evolution in Nike’s business model, in future-proofing for the digital wave that is coming.

The platform will be a place for people to buy, show off and trade phygital and virtual products; unlock access to events and products; and co-create products

Ron Faris, Nike Virtual Studio’s VP said:

So what is Dot Swoosh and why have Nike Created it?

As ST puts it above, Nike have basically created an NFT marketplace without the technical complexity or jargon.

Brands struggle with the open nature of Web3, because they can’t control it.

What I mean by that is when creating a digital asset, for example, the control of how it’s distributed, resold, showcased and so on is completely out of the brand’s control.

By creating their own marketplace, Nike can create social nudges to encourage users to shop and trade on their native platform rather than another NFT marketplace.

Nike have a good thing going with RTFKT and its NFT community, so why the shift to create a Nike branded digital marketplace?

Nike sell almost 1 billion sneakers a year. 

The number of people in RTFKT’s NFT community is currently estimated to be just below ~50,000. 

This isn’t a bad thing at all. The world of NFTs is still niche, and the fact that RTFKT have been able to sell a vast array of digital assets at high ticket prices, to 10s of thousands of people is incredibly impressive.

But for Nike to really make a dent they need to create something that is used beyond the current niche of NFT users. Remember, about 3 million unique crypto wallet addresses have traded NFTs in 2022.

This is Nike’s mass adoption moment. 

On the platform, users will be prompted to create a Nike-ID that looks like the image below:

Dot Swoosh is currently in beta.

The first batch of users were able to redeem their NIKE-ID last week.

To get early access, users had to participate in a physical event or own an RTKFT Clone X NFT.

Nike’s first virtual drop is due in the new year and they plan to cultivate a culture of co-creation and collaboration.

As well as working with artists and popular Nike collaborators, Dot Swoosh will also look to its community to help create content with them.

This is part of a growing trend we’re seeing in Web3 that goes beyond the static, general NFTs we’re used to. The ability to customise, remix and co-create is something that we’re going to see in the next wave of Web3 projects, from brands in particular.

They’re going so far as to actually allow customers who co-create virtual goods a percentage of revenues in the primary and secondary markets, which is fascinating.

With Dot Swoosh, Nike can create customisable virtual goods with artists and more importantly with their customers, to create a new era-defining line of content and products, starting that customer journey with a digitally native experience.

There’s a great gold rush for the phygital, as well. This isn’t just about digital goods. It’s about connecting the dots in a customer’s digital experience with Nike, and ending with tangible products they can wear.

This isn’t a PR stunt - Nike are very serious about the future of their business when it comes to digital.

And Web3 is seemingly becoming the fulcrum of that digital strategy.

More sports crypto stories & things to put on your radar

• Binance and Ronaldo teamed up to launch the CR7 NFT collection. 45 have been auctioned so far for a total of $214k thus far.

• Manchester United are launching their digital collectables with their training jersey partner Tezos. 

• The ATP Tour have launched an awesome art project with Art Blocks and artist Martin Grasser, in what is the first ever generative art sports NFT project.

• Krause House, the sports DAO, are on the verge of launching various media projects. 

• Adidas have launched virtual gear. Digital fashion is a thing and will continue to be so in the future.

• Azuki, the NFT project, will be on a Red Bull F1 car.

• Umbro have launched some digital collectibles. 

• RTFKT have launched some digital jerseys to celebrate the World cup.

• Cade Cunningham’s sponsor, BlockFi, a subsidiary of FTX, have declared bankruptcy. Hope he was paid upfront!

Great reads, great tweeting and more general ‘stuff’ that could impact you

• The stats for NFT activity are still pretty crazy, in isolation, not relative to peak volumes. 

• Sony has published a patent suggesting the company is looking at blockchain technology for tracking in-game assets. 

Thank you!

Thanks for reading the latest edition of the Sporting Crypto newsletter. I’m happy to see so many people enjoying and sharing it with their networks. If you enjoyed this, please tell your friends who might be interested - and share it on social :)

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not financial or business advice.These are my thoughts & opinions and do not represent the opinions of any other person, business, entity or sponsor.

The contents of this newsletter should not be used in any public or private domain without the express permission of the author.

The contents of this newsletter should not be used for any commercial activity, for example - research report or consultancy, without the express permission of the author.