Nike is coming for StockX over its sneaker NFTs

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Last month, StockX introduced a somewhat compelling use-case for NFTs as a marker of ownership for rare sneakers. Now, Nike is calling foul, saying that the company is selling unauthorized pictures of its shoes.

As reported by Reuters, Nike has sued StockX over the approximately 500 Nike-branded NFTs it has sold so far. These NFTs represent physical pairs of rare sneakers that stay locked away and safe in StockX’s climate-controlled, secure vault.

Nike claims that selling NFTs with Nike branding could confuse customers. A valid complaint. They are asking for both money and for StockX to stop selling these NFTs. It also claims that StockX has damaged Nike’s business reputation.

Complex reports that the shoe giant has proof of this confusion and points to various Reddit and Twitter posts in the lawsuit regarding Nike’s inclusion in StockX’s NFTs.

READ MORE: Razer is getting into the sneaker game because screw it, why not

The lawsuit also sheds a little more light on Nike’s own NFT aspirations. The shoe giant purchased a virtual shoe company in December 2021 and plans to eventually create Nike-branded sneakers for the metaverse.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but if we’re just looking at the size of the two companies involved, StockX is definitely the underdog.

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