IOI
Adidas, the worldwide sportswear company, has announced a relationship with Coinbase, a Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange, in the same week that it opted to spend a lot of money on a plot of land in The Sandbox, a blockchain-based virtual game environment. While neither release provides any specifics or hints as to whether the two events are connected, it’s possible that the corporation intends to spend cryptocurrencies in The Sandbox; if so, Coinbase may assist it in making the necessary investment.
Adidas announced on Twitter that it is cooperating with the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, but provided little information on the agreement, concluding with a phrase seen a lot in the crypto world: “Probably nothing.” As it answered, Coinbase confirmed the collaboration “[Good day]… Partner, welcome to the celebration!”
Adidas also took notice of the Ethereum-based virtual reality game The Sandbox and proposed that it develop something in the game’s virtual land parcels, dubbed “AdiVerse.” Adidas already has land on The Sandbox, as shown by its name on a plot of ground at these coordinates. It’s unknown if the corporation bought this property or whether The Sandbox gave it to them.
According to a statement given to City A.M. by an Adidas official, the “metaverse is now one of the most fascinating innovations in digital, making it an appealing platform for Adidas.”
While that comment alone is a clue to the company’s future ambitions, it’s worth noting that Adidas just launched an NFT on POAP, implying that Coinbase is involved, especially if the sportswear giant aims to issue a broader line of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Meanwhile, Coinbase has been attempting to build its own NFT marketplace, and it’s possible that Adidas will utilise it to distribute NFTs in the future.
The company might also utilise Coinbase to take bitcoin as a means of payment, similar to how many other businesses have done using Coinbase Commerce in the past, but all of this is just speculation at this point.
Adidas’ entrance into the metaverse looks to be a quick response to competitor Nike, which launched a virtual environment modelled after its headquarters on video gaming platform Roblox, becoming one of the first major companies to do so. The digital realm, named “Nikeland,” allows gamers to customise their avatars with exclusive Nike merchandise and is open to everyone on Roblox.
