Nike is in hot water after a group of investors filed a lawsuit claiming the company pulled the rug on its RTFKT NFT project, leading to $5 million in losses.
According to the complaint, Nike heavily promoted RTFKT’s sneaker-themed NFTs, using its global reputation to draw in buyers. But after generating significant hype, the brand reportedly shut down the platform, causing the NFTs to crash in value and leaving investors holding the bag.
The lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn federal court, accuses Nike of misleading the community by encouraging investments based on the strength of its brand. The plaintiffs argue they believed the NFTs would grow in value alongside Nike’s growing digital ambitions. As stated in the filing,
“Because the Nike NFTs derived their value from the success of a given promoter and project — here, Nike and its marketing efforts — investors purchased this digital asset with the hope that its value would increase in the future as the project grows in popularity based on the Nike brand.”
In addition, the lawsuit claims that RTFKT NFTs should be classified as unregistered securities, and that Nike violated U.S. law by marketing and selling them without proper disclosures.
The investors are seeking $5 million in damages, citing breaches of consumer protection laws and unfair business practices. While the broader legal debate over whether NFTs are securities continues, the plaintiffs argue that the court doesn’t need to settle that question to address Nike’s alleged misconduct.
Meanwhile, the SEC has recently revisited how digital assets are categorized, adding even more attention to high-profile NFT cases like this one.
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