A Nike brand specialising in virtual products and experiences, RTFKT, is to cease operating in January.

Founded in 2020, RTFKT sought to tap into interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Nike acquired it one year later, with then-chief executive, John Donahoe, saying this would accelerate the sports brand’s digital transformation and allow it “to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture”.

In one project in 2023, RTKFT worked with Japanese designer Takashi Murakami to produce, in digital form, ten new versions of the Nike Air Force 1 shoes. A number of buyers of the digital tokens were able to swap these for or limited, made-to-order physical shoes.

In a statement on December 2, RTFKT said its operations would wind down by the end of January, but that the spirit of innovation it claimed to represent would live on “through the countless creators and projects it has inspired”.