Sneakers On Ethereum Blockchain: StockX Seeks To Bridge Gap Between Physical And Virtual Worlds With NFTs

StockX, an online sneaker and streetwear marketplace, said that it is launching an experience where customers can invest in non fungible tokens or NFTs tied to physical products such as sneakers.

What Happened: On Tuesday, Scott Cutler, CEO of StockX, announced the launch of a new “VaultNFTs” service that will help users “unlock new trading opportunities.” 

“We believe that the physical items that trade on our platform are part of a new alternative asset class that can be uniquely associated with NFTs. The buyer of a StockX Vault NFT will also own the corresponding physical item including the opportunity to take possession of it at any time,” said Cutler, who heads the eBay Inc EBAY rival.

Why It Matters: The physical products linked to the NFTs are stored in the company’s own secure facility. Each VaultNFT is uniquely serialized to an authenticated product, according to Cutler's statement.

StockX said that its VaultNFTs are minted “under custodial authority” as ERC-1155 tokens on the Ethereum ETH/USD blockchain in order to “reduce transaction fees, minimize environmental impacts, and create provenance.”

VaultNFT users will not have to wait several days to resell a product or pay the fees associated with multiple legs of shipping and authentication.

StockX is aiming to go public as soon as the first half of this year, according to a Bloomberg report.

The company, best known for being a sneakers marketplace, is roping in Morgan Stanley MS and Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS for the initial public offering, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

StockX was valued at $3.8 billion following the completion of a $195 million secondary tender offering.

Price Action: At press time, ETH traded 2.1% lower at $3,158.48 over 24 hours.

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