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Nike is facing a lawsuit from people who bought its NFTs

Nike is facing a lawsuit from people who bought its NFTs

  • Nike is facing a lawsuit from customers who bought its NFTs (RTFKT) due to the company’s decision to wind down its virtual show project.
  • The plaintiffs claim that Nike did not disclose that the NFTs were “unregistered securities” and accuse the company of causing them financial losses by suddenly removing the digital assets from sale.
  • The proposed class action lawsuit seeks damages of over $5 million for alleged violations of consumer protection laws in New York, California, Florida, and Oregon.
  • Nike had attempted to enter the NFT market in 2021 but ultimately abandoned its efforts, announcing plans to wind down RTFKT operations by the end of January this year.
  • A single individual, Samuel Cardillo, has been maintaining the RTFKT project since Nike’s announcement, posting updates on the digital assets’ disappearance and reappearance.

Nike’s Cryptokicks iRL, a physical sneaker released under the RTFKT brand.

A group of people sued Nike this week over its decision to wind down its virtual show project RTFKT last year. The buyers of the digital assets accuse Nike of causing “the rug to be pulled out from under them,” and say they wouldn’t have bought its NFTs if they’d known they were “unregistered securities,” reports Reuters

Filed in New York’s Eastern District, the proposed class action lawsuit seeks “unspecified damages of more than $5 million for alleged violations of New York, California, Florida and Oregon consumer protection laws.”

Nike tried to jump into the NFT game by buying RTFKT in 2021. But, like Starbucks Odyssey, it never quite worked out and the company abandoned the idea, announcing in December via the RTFKT X account that it planned to “wind down RTFKT operations” by the end of January this year. 

Since then, RTFKT has seemingly been maintained by a single person named Samuel Cardillo, who spent Thursday posting through the sudden disappearance (and later reappearance) of artwork for its CloneX NFTs project.

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Q. What is Nike facing a lawsuit over?
A. Nike’s decision to wind down its virtual show project RTFKT.

Q. Why did people buy Nike’s NFTs?
A. They were unaware that the digital assets were “unregistered securities”.

Q. Where was the proposed class action lawsuit filed?
A. New York’s Eastern District.

Q. What is the estimated amount of damages sought in the lawsuit?
A. More than $5 million.

Q. Why did Nike abandon its NFT project RTFKT?
A. It never quite worked out and the company decided to wind down operations by the end of January this year.

Q. Who seems to be maintaining RTFKT after Nike abandoned it?
A. A single person named Samuel Cardillo.

Q. What happened to the artwork for RTFKT’s CloneX NFTs project?
A. It suddenly disappeared and later reappeared.

Q. When did Nike announce its plan to wind down RTFKT operations?
A. In December via the RTFKT X account.

Q. Why are people accusing Nike of causing them financial harm?
A. They claim that Nike “pulled the rug out from under” them by suddenly ending the project.

Q. Which states’ consumer protection laws is the lawsuit alleging violations of?
A. New York, California, Florida, and Oregon.