Adidas Stays in the NFT Game as Other Brands Pull Back

As interest in NFTs and the metaverse has cooled, many companies that ventured into these digital spaces are stepping back, with key figures either exiting or shifting their focus. A recent high-profile withdrawal includes the termination of Starbucks Odyssey's Web3 project.

Adidas is bucking this trend by staying active in the metaverse through its recent partnership with the move-to-earn application STEPN.

They have launched 1,000 NFTs representing Adidas sneakers on the Solana blockchain.

These digital assets, necessary for participating in STEPN’s reward-earning activities, debuted at 10,000 GMT each, or approximately $2,400 at current exchange rates.

Evgeniy Medvedev leads Adidas' efforts in Web3, bringing experience from his previous role at NFT company Rarible.

Meanwhile, the brand was also featured in "Crypto The Game," a Web3 survival game show in which Adidas tracksuits were up for grabs in a special challenge.

Justin Sun, founder of TRON, has been in the news for a new music release—a collaboration with famed composer Hans Zimmer.

This comes amid legal scrutiny from the SEC, which is pursuing Sun for alleged securities violations.

The collaboration, described as a landmark union of blockchain and musical creativity, was inspired by a detailed conversation between Zimmer and Sun early last year.

In other industry news, Bitcoin’s digital art sales surged to around $24 million just before halved, significantly outpacing Ethereum.

Meanwhile, PayPal is making changes. Effective May 20, it will exclude NFTs from its Purchase Protection Program.

Additionally, the NFT marketplace Magic Eden is gearing up for a new partnership with the blockchain Base on April 25. Lastly, the controversial end to "Crypto The Game" saw one participant leave with 80 ether.