Nike Faces Lawsuit Over NFT Platform Shutdown

Nike faces legal backlash from disgruntled investors after abruptly shutting down its RTFKT digital sneaker platform last year.

In a lawsuit filed this week in New York’s Eastern District, NFT purchasers allege the sportswear giant pulled “the rug out from under them” by terminating the project without warning, claiming they would never have bought the digital assets had they known they were “unregistered securities.”

The class action suit seeks unspecified damages exceeding $5 million, accusing Nike of violating consumer protection laws in New York, California, Florida and Oregon.

This legal challenge comes nearly three years after Nike’s high-profile acquisition of RTFKT in December 2021, when the company sought to capitalize on the NFT boom alongside other corporate entrants like Starbucks Odyssey.