Blockchain Hits the Sneakerhead Community

Sports giant Nike has filed a patent application for a blockchain-based system that uses digital assets as representations for designs or footwear and apparel products in an effort to prevent counterfeiting and illegal sales. Buyers and sellers can use the digital tokens as they would physical items for secure and traceable transactions utilizing a digital wallet or, as the patent states, a “locker.” The digital tokens can store information about a product such as a shoe and can also be “bred” with other tokens to create customized designs. The patent also claims a gaming system to encourage interest in products by interacting with them virtually and as a method to earn more tokens.

This is Nike’s first application in the cryptocurrency sector.