LeBron James pictured wearing $791 Nike sneakers that are only available via an NFT. Here's how that works.

By Anushree Dave

In a new set of photos of basketball star LeBron James in Los Angeles, he's seen wearing red and black Nike sneakers. While it may appear like a regular pair of shoes, the process of obtaining them isn't as straightforward as buying them with cash or a credit card at a store.

The special-edition sneakers that he's wearing can only be obtained by minting an Ethereum (ETHE) nonfungible token created by Nike-owned digital fashion company RTFKT. (Nike acquired RTFKT for an undisclosed amount in December 2021 in an effort to bridge the boundary between its physical products and digital technology.)

The photo was originally posted by The Lakers Twitter account, and quickly went viral among NFT enthusiasts, before RTFKT posted a zoomed-up version of the shoe on their own account.

According to RTFKT's OpenSea account, the RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Genesis sneakers' current price is around 0.42 ETH or $791.80, and there are a total of 1776 pairs available. Users who purchase the NFT can redeem it for the physical item.

This isn't RTFKT's only collection. Other shoes range in price from as low as $11 on the secondary market to as high as $9426 (or 5 ETH) for a limited edition shoe. In May of 2022, Nike sold an NFT sneaker for an eye-popping $134,000, designed by artist Takashi Murakami.

Non-fungible tokens are backed by a blockchain and allow brands to authenticate merchandise, track when its resold, and depending on the rules around the token, a brand can make a small percentage off of every resale.

Along with RTFKT, Nike also has a digital apparel platform called .SWOOSH (pronounced dot swoosh), which Nike has said has 330,000 members. The community lets users create and trade Nike's virtual creations that include things like sneakers, apparel, accessories, and wearables for games.

Fashion brands are increasingly moving into the digital realm and embracing the so-called metaverse, even though the hype around the term has mostly fallen this year. In March, popular gaming platform Decentraland held its second-annual metaverse fashion week, which was attended by brands like Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, and Balenciaga. Reports indicate that the digital fashion market, which was valued at $119 billion in 2021, is growing at a CAGR of 95% by 2030.

-Anushree Dave

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-05-23 1640ET

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.