Nike Offloads Rtfkt Months After Investor Lawsuit: Report 2026
The reported divestment follows Nike’s closure of its digital collectibles unit and comes as market pressures continue to weigh on NFTs.
Footwear conglomerate Nike has quietly offloaded RTFKT, the digital collectibles studio it acquired at the height of the non-fungible token (NFT) boom, according to a report by The Oregonian.
The transaction reportedly happened in December, though neither the buyer nor the financial terms have been disclosed. The quiet exit happened almost a year after Nike announced that it was shutting down its RTFKT subsidiary.
Nike has not publicly confirmed the sale, saying only in a brief statement published by The Oregonian that the transaction marked a new chapter for RTFKT and its community. The company said that it continues to invest in digital experiences, mentioning partnerships with gaming platforms.
The reported sale signals an end to one of the most high-profile corporate NFT experiments of the previous cycle and marks Nike’s exit from a project once positioned as a cornerstone of its Web3 strategy.
Nike acquired RTFKT in December 2021, describing the studio as a way to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sports, gaming and culture.
The project rose to prominence in the space for its NFT-based virtual sneakers, digital wearables and collaborations that blended streetwear aesthetics with blockchain technology.
At its peak, the NFTs traded for thousands of dollars. Holders were promised quests, challenges and future digital experiences, positioning the tokens as more than just static collections.
Still, as market conditions turned sour, Nike announced that it would stop RTFKT’s operations. This led to a class-action lawsuit from investors accusing the company of performing a “rug pull.” In April, NFT holders alleged that the sunsetting of RTFKT operations wiped out the value of the digital assets they held.
The lawsuit sought $5 million in damages, alleging that Nike’s branding and marketing were central to the perceived value of the NFTs.
Source: CoinTelegraph
