.SWOOSH, a web3 platform developed by the popular sports brand Nike, has already generated more than $1 million in sales from its first sneaker-themed non-fungible token (NFT) collection.
The strong sales number indicates that despite some early technical issues and delays, the demand for well-designed shoes in the metaverse is healthy.
“We ran into an unforeseen error that held up the minting process. This also blocked additional purchases,” the .SWOOSH team wrote in a tweet on the first day of the general sale on May 24.
Before that, the sale of the NFTs began for an exclusive group of selected users on May 15, about a week after the originally planned launch date on May 8.
At the time of writing on Friday, more than 71,000 NFTs had been sold, data from Polygonscan showed.
The marketplace started out with a total inventory of 106,453 NFTs for sale.
Each NFT is selling for $19.82, with the price referencing the release year of Nike’s original Air Force 1 sneaker.
Given the price tag, Nike’s NFT sales have now likely surpassed $1.4 million.
Despite already bringing in around $1.4 million, comments from the .SWOOSH team about an extension of the pre-sale for selected users have indicated that at least that part of the sale was moving slower than anticipated.
“As a reminder, we have extended the First Access Sale until Wednesday at 11:59 PM PDT to ensure you have plenty of time to participate,” the team wrote on Twitter on May 17.
Nike first launched its .SWOOSH web3 platform in November of 2022, with plans to sell virtual sneakers for less than $50 a pair.
At the time, RTFK, a company that creates NFTs and digital sneakers for the metaverse and that was later acquired by Nike, described .SWOOSH as an opportunity to bring millions of people into the web3 space.
“.SWOOSH is a platform for Nike’s virtual creations, for them to be more accessible and to onboard the next millions into the wonderful world of web3 and digital assets,” RTFKT said.