The latest news from Adidas is shaking the crypto headlines since Adidas Originals tweeted that they partner up with Coinbase to accept payments in cryptocurrencies. This is actually a proof of an increased adoption of the cryptocurrencies by traditional companies.
Buying Adidas sneakers in Bitcoin makes Bitcoin way more liquid and actionable than just a pure speculative tool, but the Coinbase news is ‘probably nothing’ compared to the side news that Adidas is also partnering up with the metaverse platform called The Sandbox to develop the ‘adiVerse’, and that’s something big.
That’s something big because it is also a hint of what’s about to hit the fan in a couple of months in the NFT space: the Adidas sneakers and other branded virtual clothes, shoes and objects.
In fact, these brands, and these companies which are normally not in the tech and even less in the crypto space will be gradually adopting their offer to a life on a metaverse, and they will be selling virtual clothes, and virtual sneakers and other objects to increase their brand awareness on the virtual space and their revenue.
NFTs: The future of online ads?
As such, companies from tech to non-tech are now digesting the fact that the virtual presence is important, and it will probably be the future of the digital ads business. It will be cooler, more futuristic, and catchier (!) to sell Adidas sneakers to avatars on a virtual SandBox or Facebook platform, than just putting online ads on people’s Facebook timelines.
We will probably see a faster race to who will dress the avatars and who will fill up the virtual spaces with virtual objects from traditional companies. Nike for example has launched CryptoKicks already in 2019. You would be surprised to see by how much companies are getting involved in the meta-craziness. Mark Zuckerberg just unleashed a beast when he concretized the idea of metaverse a couple of weeks ago, and here we go, EA games is planning to launch NFTs, Universal Music will throw a Bored Ape virtual music band and you can attend the Bored Ape virtual concerts wearing Adidas sneakers. But first, you need to buy them! What a business plan!
So, NFTs are about to become the next advertisement tool and the potential is huge because the digital ads market is huge! And the change is happening, and it is happening now.
As a result, the companies are now rushing to the NFTs, and it is way more significant than your neighbour Jerry rushing to these new-age, ultra-volatile digital assets to become rich in a fast fashion.
Whether the news could help Adidas stop the heavy bleeding on its shares is yet to be seen, but, at this point, I believe the companies who allow the transaction of NFTs should see an increased appetite from investors, and Coinbase which is preparing to launch an NFT platform could be in a good place to catch the first volumes.
Fed minutes said out loud what everyone thought quietly
In traditional markets, the market mood is rather ok-ish after the FOMC minutes, although Federal Reserve (Fed) minutes showed that the US policymakers are now considering a faster QE taper and an earlier interest rate hike if inflation continues running higher. And the minutes was of a meeting that happened before the US released its latest CPI figure, which soared above the 6%, to a three-decade high. At this point, it makes sense to expect an earlier, and maybe a steeper rate normalization from the Fed. The US 2-year yield continues pushing higher on rising expectation of a tighter Fed policy, but appetite in US equities is not much hit. Nasdaq, which is supposed to be the most sensitive to higher rates closed yesterday’s session higher than the other major US indices, while gold slipped below the $1800 per ounce as the rising yields increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-interest-bearing gold, at a time when the risk rally promises bigger returns to investors who invest in, well, risky assets.
