Nike was sued on Friday by purchasers of Nike-themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and different cryptocurrency belongings who stated they suffered important losses when the athletic put on firm abruptly closed the enterprise that created these belongings.
In a proposed class motion filed in Brooklyn, New York federal court docket, purchasers led by Australian resident Jagdeep Cheema stated the sudden closure in December of Nike’s RTFKT unit brought on demand for his or her NFTs to dry up.
They stated they’d by no means have purchased the NFTs on the costs they did, or in any respect, had they identified the tokens have been unregistered securities, and that Nike would “trigger the rug to be pulled out from underneath them.”
Nike, based mostly in Beaverton, Oregon, didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark. Phillip Kim, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, declined to remark.
The authorized standing of NFTs is unsettled, and there was a lot litigation over whether or not they’re securities underneath federal regulation.
Friday’s lawsuit sought unspecified damages of greater than $5 million for alleged violations of New York, California, Florida and Oregon shopper safety legal guidelines.
Nike purchased RTFKT, pronounced “artifact,” in December 2021, saying the style model was leveraging “innovative innovation to ship subsequent technology collectibles that merge tradition and gaming.”
It introduced RTFKT’s since-completed wind down on Dec. 2, 2024, whereas projecting that the innovation RTFKT represented would dwell on by means of the “numerous creators and tasks” it impressed.
The case is Cheema v Nike Inc, US District Courtroom, Japanese District of New York, No. 25-02305.
By Jonathan Stempel; Editor Cynthia Osterman
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