When non-fungible tokens (aka NFTs) — which are basically certificates of digital or physical assets — first launched, big brands found success. They didn’t launch their own, entertain the trends of the time (now a full-blown industry), or hastily revamp their previous releases with crypto perks. We all knew it was coming, but when Nike first showed its hesitation, many wondered if the brand, or others of similar size, would eventually go all-in. rice field.

Then Nike launched a series of acquisitions — NFT technology companies, other NFT makers, and more. And while real-life apparel and footwear are still the behemoth’s main focus, NFT seems to be paying off, even if most shoppers (myself included) were skeptical.

Nike has earned $185.33 million in NFTs to date, beating out Gucci, Tiffany, Dolce & Gabbana, and Adidas for the top spot on the new list. Noah Levine A ranking of the space’s best earners. Dolce & Gabbana ($25.65 million) was his second. Tiffany ($12.62 million) was his third. Gucci ($11.56 million) and Adidas ($10.95 million) were fourth and he was fifth.

But these brands aren’t making NFTs for the money.

Dune analysis

Note that $185.33 million is only 0.3% of Nike’s total annual revenue. So the money Nike makes, for example, is not the main incentive to keep making, or at least promoting, NFTs (often digital sneakers and apparel). Samuel Van Death, Director of Marketing Strategy for Oracle’s European, Middle East and Asian Markets, said: “I would argue that it’s not the most important metric… impact on overall brand awareness, engagement, loyalty and customer lifetime revenue is probably a bigger reason for brands to invest here.”

Nike, Tiffany, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana are not only technically early adopters, but they have incredible potential for NFTs as a marketing tool, especially if the NFT/cryptocurrency market starts to grow again like in 2021. yields as much profit. Nike recorded about 68,000 secondary trades from his NFTs, with secondary trading volume totaling him over $1.2 billion. Here, it means that someone searched with the intention of buying a Nike NFT, but ended up with Nike socks and his t-shirt in Nike. In terms of size, Adidas, which took second place behind Nike, didn’t even come close to what Nike made out of his NFTs.

So far, it looks like Nike will continue to be one of the biggest brands of all time, even as it moves from the physical world to the digital world. However, I still don’t know if I can protect my IP.