Buyers of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with Nike themes and other cryptocurrency assets have sued Nike, claiming they lost a lot of money when the sportswear company suddenly shut down the company that produced the assets.
Buyers led by Australian resident Jagdeep Cheema filed a proposed class action lawsuit in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, claiming that the abrupt closure of Nike’s RTFKT subsidiary in December reduced demand for their NFTs.
The plaintiffs argue that they would not have bought the tokens if they had known that the mentioned assets were among unregistered securities or that RTFKT would shut down so quickly.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages surpassing US $ 5 million for alleged violations of consumer protection laws in California, Florida, Oregon, and New York.
The company made a major entry into NFTs by acquiring RTFKT in December 2021, just as the market for digital collectibles was nearly at its peak.
RTFKT showed market potential at the time of purchase by selling US $ 3.1 million worth of digital sneakers in just seven minutes during a launch event.
Although Nike had earlier stated that RTFKT represented innovation that would continue through “countless creators and projects” it inspired, the company closed the RTFKT unit in December 2024, just three years later.
