If you ever have a doubt about how lucrative NFTs could be, the recent information making the rounds about the huge sales that top brands have made with NFTs will definitely make you have a rethink. In the space of one year or less, top brands have raked in around $260 million, but a question looms about the utility of these NFTs.
Putting it simply, what have they built with these record sales?
Record Sales and Record Transactions
NFTgators recently spilled the beans through a post that was initially made by @kingjames23 on Twitter. In the post, a screenshot from the analytics platform, Dune Analytics, was attached, showing how brands have performed impressively in terms of NFT sales.
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Topping the list is Nike, with $185 million in revenue from NFT sales and 67,251 transactions. Other brands making the top 10 include D&G, Gucci, Tiffany, Adidas, Budweiser, Time Magazine, Bud Light, AO, and Lacoste.
The interesting thing is that Lacoste ventured into NFT barely two months ago with its UNDW3 collection featuring 11,212 NFTs.
What have they built?
As impressive as the sales have been for brands, it is important that we look into what they have built within this short period.
Nike made its foray into NFT by acquiring virtual sneaker company, RTFKT in December 2021. It has since launched its CryptoKicks collection. For D&G, its NFT debut featured Collezione Genesi which sold for $5.7 million. Other brands have also made notable features in the space.
One thing, however, runs in the way the brands have approached NFT. Acquisitions and partnerships are visible. D&G has partnered with NFT marketplace UNXD and Inbetween. Nike acquired RTFKT while partnering with BAYC, and Punk Comics. Budweiser has a partnership with NFT gaming company Zed Run, while Gucci has partnerships with metaverse company 10KFT and digital art platform, Vault.
A lot of these partnerships show that brands are gradually preparing for the commercialization of the metaverse in an era where the virtual world will eventually outpace the current web2 landscape.
For now, not much has been built in terms of utility for consumers, but the current trajectory is an indication that the metaverse could provide profound use cases that will eventually justify the record revenue that top brands have so far made through NFT sales.
Conclusion
Utility determines the longevity of NFTs, especially for top global brands. In terms of the record sales, not much has been done to justify the revenue. Still, this could change in the near future when the metaverse becomes more pronounced. Expect to see your virtual character rock D&G in Zed Run or GTA6 soon, or perhaps your digital self could wear Nike’s Cryptokicks to the Vault gallery.
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