SneakerDAO Signals Merger of Blockchain and Sneaker Communities

Two fanatic cultures — crypto and sneakers — eloped in the dawn of 2020. Time will tell if the lucrative art of collectible footwear and burgeoning egalitarian network of blockchain will launch new ways for both communities to grow and collaborate.

One San Francisco startup is hedging bets it will.

SneakrCred sets 23 sneaker design tokens in auction January 20th to officially launch blockchain’s first global sneaker design creation and exchange portal with plans to link a SneakerDAO, a governance platform by and for the sneaker community, to follow. The SneakrCred auction gives designers rights to blank sneaker templates to create new sneakers or sell/auction their designs online via their blockchain platform. Early testnet designers have designed their own version of Nike Air Jordan 1 to hip hop themed kicks such as a Wu-Tang Clan “Shaolin 001 High Boot.” Neither are official Nike or Wu-Tang Wear, but the platform lets designers create what they wish existed.

In December 2019, Nike received a US Patent on a blockchain system to tokenize their shoes on Ethereum. It will allow sneaker buyers to verify their ownership on the blockchain, and transfer ownership if the shoes are sold. SneakrCred has launched a testnet for sneaker designing and exchanging on Ethereum with patents pending. Nike’s patent also talks of bringing the sneaker design into gaming environments which are also part of SneakrCred’s original plan.