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The Business of Money

The cost of making (new) cents.

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It’s not just the crown that’s changed over following Queen Elizabeth’s recent passing. Everything, from Britain’s mailboxes to its money, is getting a “royal makeover”, and it’s costing the UK a pretty ~~penny~~ pence.

Here’s a closer look at the business of giving money a (literal) facelift.

New bill, who dis?

Britain’s not the only country updating its bills now that King Charles is in charge. According to Guinness, the late Queen appears on a record 33 currencies! And, while this is uncharted territory for the UK – Elizabeth became the first, and only, monarch to appear on British bank notes in 1960 – luckily, other countries can offer a few tips.

In 2018, Canada released a new $10 featuring civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond—winning Bank Note of the Year (a real award, we swear). The US is also planning to put Harriet Tubman on the $20. Fiiiiinally.

But expect to see Queen E. on bills for the next few years, because of the cost of putting King C3 on an #irl C note.

The real cost of a dollar? 7.5 cents

The New York Times estimates that producing new coins to celebrate Charles’ reign could cost $600+ million. Canada’s limited-edition 150th anniversary $10 bill cost $5.7 million to design, test, and develop. And in the US, printing costs range from 7.5 cents per $1 bill to 17 cents for a hundred. (The penny, now retired, used to cost twice its face value to mint…)

Of course, they say, you’ve gotta spend money to make money and, well, turns out this is literally true…

Paper or plastic?

When Canada switched to polymer bills, manufacturing costs jumped from $0.11 per bill to $0.20. Ultimately, the move paid for itself: the harder-to-counterfeit “plastic” money also lasts 2.5x longer.

The Queen will live on… as a meme coin

The market for rare currency featuring the Queen skyrocketed after her death. Crypto got in on the action too, with 40+ new meme coins minted within 24 hours after the announcement of her death. Like most meme coins, the swings were wild: the Queen Elizabeth Inu jumped nearly 30,000% before the inevitable dump. Another coin saw $2.7 million worth in trade volume in under 12 hours. It’s the web3 equivalent of unlicensed Royals merch.

#coin #cost #economics #Financial Literacy #money #queen #spending

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Will Superstition Make You Rich?

The Economics of Superstition and the Markets.

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Human beings are a notoriously superstitious bunch. Especially when money’s involved. But eating the same thing for lunch every day won’t help you become a successful day trader any more than it’ll help you win an NBA title.

Here are a few of the stranger superstitions investors have tried to use to beat the market.

October’s spooky for stock brokers

Wall Street’s scariest days may have come during the spookiest season, from the Crash of 1929 to 1987’s Black Monday to the ‘97 “mini-crash,” but October’s bad rap is an overblown urban legend. September’s historically been the worst month for stock market performance, dating all the way back to 1897.

Friday the 13th slashes stocks

Traders + teen camp counsellors 🤝 are terrified of Friday the 13th. But superstitions around lucky (and unlucky) numbers aren’t just a North American phenomenon. Taiwanese traders’ preference for placing limit orders ending in 8 costs them, coincidentally enough, 8.8% in annual returns.

The Super Bowl Theory

This one’s pretty straightforward: if an NFC team wins the Super Bowl, the market will have a good year. If an AFC team wins, it’ll have a bad one. So, wait, if the Bears win, we’ll be in a bull market? Go figure.

Beware the full moon

According to Wall Street, the moon controls the tides and the market. Eclipses – lunar and solar – see lower returns and trading volumes. Lunar cycles can supposedly influence our moods. Or maybe investors are just afraid of werewolves.

“Sell in May and go away”

This classic UK saying warns investors to take summers off, but the data doesn’t support the extended holiday. Conventional wisdom doesn’t either. Instead of trying to “time the market” using a catchy rhyme, it’s smarter and safer to invest for the prosaic long haul.

Algorithms can be superstitious too

In 2012, a British art student created “Sid the Superstitious Robot” to trade based on some of the classic superstitions mentioned above. After only three weeks, Sid’s fund lost 12% of its value, helping prove that the same superstitions we think will protect us actually cost us in the long run.

#Financial Literacy #investing #markets #money #superstition

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The Market for Collectibles: Sports Edition

Why you should hang onto your baseball card collection

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The market for collectibles boomed at the beginning of the pandemic, as people with money to spend found a new hobby buying, selling, and trading. With millennials entering their high-earning years, they’re investing in memorabilia the same way their parents and grandparents collected art and Royal Doulton figurines (IYKYK). It’s helped take the sports collectibles industry from a $5.4 billion-dollar market pre-pandemic to $26 billion in 2021. Some predict it’ll grow to $227B within 10 years. Others worry it’s due for a recession-fuelled correction.

Here are some of the eye-popping numbers fuelling the recent rise…

£7,142,500: Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” jersey

In May, Sotheby’s in London auctioned off the kit Maradona wore when he scored the most infamous goal in World Cup history. (Or “goal”, if you’re a Three Lions supporter.) Originally valued at $5-$7.5M, the jersey sold for $9.28M (£7.1M), becoming the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold.

Until it wasn’t…

$12.6M: 1952 Mickey Mantle card

A 70-year-old baseball card became the first sports collectible to break 8 figures at auction last month. Previously purchased for $50K in 1991 — a then-record for a ‘52 Mantle card — this marked a 25,100% rise in value! Of course, value’s relative. Back in 1952, that same card came in a pack for a nickel. And it came with a stick of gum.

Some cold water on your high hopes before you go digging for that shoebox of musty Topps cards: condition is everything, and Mickey was in great shape for his age.

$208K: A Legendary LeBron James Moment

Even virtual memorabilia is shattering records. In 2021, the same NBA Top Shot NFTs that originally traded for a few bucks apiece shot up to a record $208K for a “Moment” of the King dunking over the Kings.

It’d turn out to be a high-water mark for the Top Shot market. Blame the #cryptocrash, sure. But whether you’re talking art, sports memorabilia, NFTs, or any other collectible, the same age-old truth applies: they may be worth whatever someone’s willing to pay for them, but that doesn’t mean the price’ll keep going up.

#baseball cards #collectibles #investment #LeBron #Maradona

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The Business of Nostalgia

Too soon, too soon.

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Whether you grew up decades ago, or just got out of diapers, marketers and meme-fluencers are ready to serve up and cash in on looking back.

Here’s how four generations are handling the nostalgia for their youth…

Gen Z

By late July, Minions: The Rise Of Gru had already grossed over $600M worldwide, making it the biggest animated film of the pandemic era. It also now holds the record for biggest opening over the Independence Day holiday. This, for the sixth film in the franchise.

How are these yellow goggle-wearing jellybeans still pulling in these kinds of numbers? One big reason: members of Gen Z are now old enough to feel nostalgia about their own childhoods.

#GentleMinions, a viral TikTok trend, has seen hoards of young people hit the theatre dressed in suits. One teenager told the NYT “pure nostalgia” for the childhood fave led him and his friends to put on their Wall Street best for a screening.

“Anybody over the age of 25 was, like, really, really confused about what we were doing there.”

The youngest millennials are now just over 25 and, according to Gen Z, low-key ancient.

New York Times | July 8, 2022

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Millenials

Meanwhile, millennials are on their own quasi-ironic animated nostalgia trip, selling out a touring Shrek-themed rave. Attendees show up in costumes inspired by the green ogre and cut a rug to embarrassing songs that they may or may not secretly enjoy. According to organizer, Ka5sh: “I feel like Shrek is the right amount of cringe, but also the right amount of nostalgia.”

We buy that equation.

So what’s the secret to figuring out which pop-culture relics are worth resuscitating? It might come down to meme magic: after a recent party in Brooklyn, Ka5sh (the 5 is silent, by the way) told media that, like SpongeBob SquarePants , Shrek “continued to age well online.”

Narcity | March 23, 2022

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Gen X

Making up only about 15% of the population, the “Forgotten Generation” has spent life being overlooked, but this may be about to change. Now, in their early 40s to mid-50s, the cohort sandwiched between the boomer and millennial behemoths has managed to save over $13 trillion, becoming the wealthiest generation per capita in the process.

So much for the slacker cliches.

And, no surprise, marketers have clocked this accumulation of cash. “Those who mine the ’80s and ’90s to smartly sell products can reap the benefits,” says Adweek. “Think bringing back Crystal Pepsi, reuniting Wayne and Garth for Uber Eats and referencing Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for LiftMaster.”

In October, an exhibition called “Growing Up X” will open at the Illinois State Museum, reports USA Today, all about (and presumably for) “the last generation to have had an analog childhood.”

Xers may be more resistant to pandering — Douglas Coupland’s classic novel Generation X said it best with a chapter titled, “I Am Not a Target Market” — but if they don’t bite on a shameless ’90s revival, Gen Z‘s got it covered.

Adweek | May 24, 2022

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Boomers

Finally, unlike Xers, baby boomers are used to being fawned over. “By the mid-’60s, nearly half the U.S. population was under 25,” says MarketWatch, and advertisers desperately vied for their attention. That’s why boomers vividly recall brands and media from their youth, feeling an affection for their past, which can border on obsessive.

They’re the generation with the largest buying power, and industries catering to boomer nostalgia are so numerous it’s hard to single one out. But we’ll try, with music.

Queen’s 1981 Greatest Hits just passed seven million copies sold in the U.K., where it’s spent over 1,000 weeks on the charts. In 2021, the Rolling Stones staged the year’s highest-grossing tour.

One music critic argues it’s proof that older music is simply better. But, new research suggests boomers are the only generation that prefers music from before the before the ’90s, writes Quartz.

So, is the business of nostalgia moving on from the 20th century? Maybe.

Turns out boomers love Minions too.

Quartz | July 20, 2022

#childhood #Financial Literacy #kids #nostalgia #spending

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How To Tell If We’re In A Recession

And other dubious lessons from the past

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Are we headed for a recession? Depending who you ask, the answer’s either definitely yes, hopefully not or, we’re already in one.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (the group responsible for answering that question) says we’re not. Yet. At least not according to their “official” predictors, which include unemployment rates and spending habits.

But those aren’t the only methods economists have used to predict economic downturns.

You’re wearing those… again?

Alan Greenspan came up with the idea that men’s underwear sales could signal a recession, back when the former Fed chair was just a consultant. His thinking? Sales of gitch dip when guys have less money for “unnecessary” expenses.

Popping bottles, popping economy

Champagne sales pop when the economy’s up. And, more drinking at home — even the premium stuff — signals some belt-tightening.

If you trust this indicator, good news, because bubbly’s popping off lately. Cheers!

Short skirts and skinny ties

The “hemline index” was first introduced during the Great Depression: shorter skirts = stronger economy. Ties supposedly get skinnier during lean times, too.

Neither was an especially good indicator then, and they’re even worse now, since skirts and ties have been eclipsed by sweats and hoodies, thanks to hybrid offices and WFH.

From your lips to the economy’s ears…

Coined by Leonard Lauder (Chairman Emeritus of Estée Lauder), the “lipstick index” says we’re more likely to treat ourselves to small luxuries when times are tough.

Reports of the index’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Allegedly debunked in 2009, when lipstick sales declined by 10%, Covid masking mandates were thought to have killed it for good.

But this index has the staying power of a Revlon red! According to one market research group, lip makeup revenues climbed 48% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2022.

Now, it’s the fastest growing makeup category of 2022!

Watch out for goths as well: the darker the nail polish, apparently, the darker the economic outlook.

Market crash to diaper rash

The theory: parents looking to save cash, change their kids’ diapers less, leading to rising rash cream sales.

All butts, no glory.

Less green, more green thumb

The Great Recession saw a rise in gardening from people hoping to save on grocery bills. (Coupon use is another popular signal.) Just remember to wear long sleeves while you’re elbow deep in the dirt… Mosquito bites increased in ‘08 as the bloodsuckers moved into recently foreclosed homes.

The macro takeaway? If you squint hard enough, you can see recession signs everywhere, right next to the signs that the economy is on the ups.

Our takeaway? There’s opportunity everywhere, no matter what economic cycle we appear to be in. So, keep your eyes trained on THAT.

#economy #Financial Literacy #indicators #investment #recession

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The Economics of Emotions

Shopping is a Mind Game

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We may think of ourselves as savvy shoppers, but emotions play a bigger role in our spending habits than we might realize. From stress spending to FOMO, here’s a closer look at what’s happening in our brains when we shop.

Money can buy happiness

Do you use shopping as a mood booster? You’re not alone. Over half of Americans say they’ve participated in “retail therapy”, and studies have shown shopping can have a lasting positive impact on our mood. It can even reduce feelings of sadness, and help us feel in control when we’re overwhelmed.

Of course, that’s not the whole story…

The thrill of the hunt

Shopping floods our brains with dopamine, just like hearing your fave song or seeing your crush. But here’s the secret — it’s not the purchase that’s getting you hyped, it’s the build up. That rush can be addicting.

So, use your brain’s love of anticipation to your advantage! Saving up for a major purchase actually feels better than buying it right away on credit.

Say no to FOMO

Giving ourselves more time to anticipate a big purchase doesn’t just feel better, it also helps us make better decisions. Whether it’s a limited-time sale or hot meme stock, the idea of missing out sends our lizard brains into everyone-for-themselves mode. Back in the day, this helped our hunter/gatherer ancestors stay alive.

Today, it’s a recipe for buyer’s remorse.

Stress encourages us to impulse buy

Oh, and what’s the #1 source of stress? Money. Ahhhhh. So, stress-spending can get you caught in a feedback loop of impulse purchase → guilt and regret → more stress. Next time you’re feeling stressed, opt for a healthier outlet, like meditation or exercise. See if you’re still even thinking about that panic purchase once you’ve distracted yourself with something else.

~~Don’t~~ Do shop angry

This doesn’t mean you should Hulk up before hitting the mall, but shopping while angry made it easier for research participants to stay focused on what they were shopping for, making them more satisfied with their purchases as a result.

Look, but don’t touch

Handling an item lets us take it out for a mental test drive. It also makes it difficult for us to imagine letting go. The takeaway here: don’t take it away 🤣

When you’re out shopping, keep your hands to yourself!

#emotions #Financial Literacy #FOMO #money #shopping

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LeBron Makes Bank

Minute by Minute

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LeBron James just signed a two-year, $97.1 million guaranteed contract extension with the L.A. Lakers. This makes him the highest-earning player in NBA history… and the first player to surpass half a billion dollars in career earnings.

He’s an 18-time All Star, and a 4-time NBA champion and MVP, so just how valuable are his minutes on the court ?

Wealthie does the math on this mega-contract:

Each NBA team plays 82 games per season. (This doesn’t include playoff games. Those cost extra. And, in 19 years of play, Lebron’s only missed the playoffs 4 times.)

82 games in a season, means LeBron will now earn… about $592 000 per game. Alright, alright, alright!

And with 48 minutes in a game… King James is racking up $12 333 per minute.

Per second?! LeBron’s sweeping $205.55 into his piggybank every second he’s on the court.

But that’s just the beginning. Because LeBron can make it rain even harder. He’s a business owner, a celebrated philanthropist, and an investor. He’s smart about his money. So, let’s say he takes some of this new money, invests it in the S&P 500, and then doesn’t touch it for 20 years.

Let’s do that math.

Historically, the S&P 500’s averaged an annual return of 7.3%. Looking at this return, here’s how LeBron’s minutes of play might stack up:

One minute of play, invested: $12,333 → $50,473
One full game, invested: $592,000 → $2.4MM
LeBron’s full contract, invested: $97.1MM → $397.4MM

Hey, we can’t all be LeBron. Or Serena. Or Warren… Buffett. But we can make our money work the same way theirs does.

We’re gonna take a $12 333 minute to think about it!

#basketball #investing #money #sports #stock market

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LeBron Gets the Last Word

Actually, he’ll own it. A primer on trademarks.

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LeBron James, basketball legend and entrepreneur, is pursuing a trademark for the phrase “Shut Up and Dribble.”

Trademark Words? How? Why?

Fox News host Laura Ingraham, spoke the phrase in 2018, in an unsolicited response to James and other pro athletes speaking out against Donald Trump.

“It’s always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball,” she said. “As someone once said, shut up and dribble.”

A video of Ingraham’s flagrant foul, retweeted and responded to by King James, has over 30 million views. The Lakers star owned the moment then, and if this trademark application is approved, his athlete empowerment brand will literally own it — this time as intellectual property.

Tricks of the trademark

A trademark is a recognizable feature of a brand that distinguishes it from others — legally, and in the eyes of consumers. This recognition can make a trademark valuable. It could be a word or phrase, logo, product name, or design element; it could even be a distinctive scent, texture, or sound. (In the U.S., the ® symbol denotes an officially registered trademark, while ™ is used to stake a claim to an unregistered one.)

These recognizable elements are integral to a brand’s identity, even synonymous with it. Think of the Nike “swoosh,” or Apple’s bitten fruit logo. Anyone is free to sell their own competing shoes or smartphones, but if they plan to use imagery reminiscent of these iconic symbols, they should expect to hear pretty quickly from lawyers. (Unless the use is for parody…)

Use it or lose it

Proving trademark ownership can be thorny, so for LeBron, this is not a slam dunk.

Even huge brands can struggle to prove and protect their trademarks. Take McDonald’s: in 2019, the burger behemoth lost its fight to defend the Big Mac name in the EU. The European Union Intellectual Property Office ruled the company failed to prove “genuine use” of the trademark. It was a major victory for Irish chain, Supermac’s, and a major trolling opportunity for Burger King.

LeBron’s claim, though, is personal, and millions of people are cheering him on.

#basketball #LeBron #money #ownership #trademarks

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The Economics of the NBA Draft

From overnight millionaire to overnight cautionary tale.

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With the 2022 NBA Draft in the rearview, a handful of teenage hoopers have become overnight millionaires. In recent years, the Association’s held mandatory financial literacy classes to give incoming rookies a crash course on everything from budgeting basics to spotting shady investments. But much like lottery winners, that hasn’t stopped NBA stars from blowing it all—and then some.

We’ve mixed the cautionary and the heartwarming.

Ben Simmons: Exotic pets

The 2016 1st overall pick banked $6 million before playing a single NBA game, then dropped $10K of that on a pair of Savannah cats. Simmons was forced to give up the designer pets after they became too much of a headache. Ironic, since Ben was “given up” a few years later when he proved too much of a headache for the Sixers!

Harrison Barnes: A “really nice bed”

You can’t put a price on a good night’s sleep. Barnes finally made his childhood dream of owning a “nice bed” come true after being drafted by the Warriors, saying that mattress shopping felt “like Christmas” after years of counting every penny.

Jalen Rose: $15K on a phone

Yes, you read that right. The former lottery pick spent his entire rookie contract, including $15,000 on a sapphire crystal phone with 24/7 concierge service. It’s supposedly “the Rolls-Royce of phones” — but Rose never even used it.

Shaquille O’Neal: Millionaire → $80K in debt 💸

Shaq signed a million-dollar endorsement deal leading up the ‘92 draft. By the time Orlando picked him #1 overall, it was all gone. So, where’d it go?

3 Mercedes-Benz (1 for him, dad, and a “little” Benz for mom) = $500K
Jewelry, clothes, pager (ask your parents) and cell phone = $100K
Taxes + agent fees = $400K+

Michael Carter-Williams: Nothing

On the advice of his mom/manager, the promising Philly point guard lived off endorsement deals while putting every cent of his rookie contract into a trust fund that he couldn’t touch for three years. It was a smart move, especially since the former Rookie of the Year wound up getting hurt and has bounced around on a series of smaller deals ever since.

The takeaway? Always listen to your mom!

#Financial Literacy #money #NBA #paycheque #rookie

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The Cost of Building Jurassic Park

Crunching the numbers on the world’s most dangerous amusement park

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Jurassic World: Dominion has hit the theatres, and JP merch is flying (velociraptor-style) off the shelves. It’s got us curious about how much it would cost to bring Jurassic Park to life, IRL. Is this a decent investment opportunity?

The jury’s out, or eaten, so you be the judge:

$331.2 million: Cost to buy Isla Nublar

At 14,080 acres, Isla Nublar – home to the original JP and, later, Jurassic World – is roughly half the size of Disney World, giving dinos plenty of room to stretch their legs and wings.

According to OfficialETA’s, “The Price of Paradise” tool, a similarly-sized private island off the coast of Costa Rica will run you $331.2 million. If you’re willing to downsize, the 800-acre “shovel-ready” Golfito Bay can be had for a bargain $17,500,000.

$1.2 billion: Construction costs

John Hammond (aka Richard Attenborough) spared no expense building the original JP. Neither did Jurassic World’s Simon Masrani (aka Irrfan Khan). The new InGen CEO spent an estimated $1.2 billion on concrete and materials alone to build his new-and-improved park — about what it cost Disney to complete Animal Kingdom.

$2 million (or more): Liability insurance

New Jersey’s fantastically dangerous Action Park is the stuff of legend. It got away without liability insurance. Gene Mulvihill, “The Walt Disney of New Jersey” figured it was cheaper to pay injury claims out of pocket — his own. That was the ’80s, and times have changed. In 2020, $100M-worth of coverage cost Six Flags $2 million in premiums. It’s safe to assume Jurassic Park’s payments would be higher, since the prior claims history is a determining factor for insurance premiums, and there are pretty hefty claims/eatings that date back to 1993.

$300+ million: Cost of dino food, annually

One area where you don’t want to scrimp. As one of the world’s largest zoos, the San Diego Zoo spent $281,273,000 in 2021 to feed and care for 12,000+ animals across 650+ species. The fictional Jurassic World only features 20 species of dinos (cloning isn’t cheap!), but we’re rounding up to be safe. A well-fed dino dines on fewer guests.

#business #dinosaurs #Hollywood #Jurassic Park #money

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The Business of Web3

News from the future of the Internet

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The heady days of Crypto are feeling more like a massive migraine in June 2022. Coins, such as Bitcoin and Ether, once thought to be the new oil, have been on a lurching decline in recent weeks.

The dips keep on dipping.

The Damon/McGregor-fuelled ad campaigns, the arena naming, the requests by mayors to be paid in Bitcoin – are these now just quaint memories from a bygone era? More importantly, does the #Cryptocrash throw cold water on the future of Web3?

We feel you, and no. Crypto may be one part of the dream for a new, better internet, but it’s far from the only part. So, consider this a break from the doom and gloom. Here’s what else is making headlines in the wide world of Web3.

The Weeknd’s After Hours tour is finally happening, now brought to you by Binance

Web3’s Got Soul: Ethereum’s co-founder introduces the idea of “soulbound tokens”

Pride Month celebrations come to the metaverse, proving Web3’s not just for crypto bros

Read on…

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The Weeknd became the latest chart-topping megastar to hop aboard the Web3 train after tapping Binance as the official sponsor for his After Hours Til Dawn tour. It’s the “first global concert tour to integrate Web 3.0 technology for an enhanced fan experience.” Okay, coolcoolcool, but what does that mean exactly?

A few highlights: The tour will collaborate with Toronto-based “creative incubator”, HXOUSE on an NFT collection, and virtual ticket stubs will grant attendees access to commemorative NFTs and other brag-worthy one-of-a-kind experiences. According to The Weeknd, “There are so many possibilities with crypto and I think this is just the beginning.”

A little louder for Kanye in the back.

Complex | June 3, 2022

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It’s the future of the Future of the Internet, according to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin: non-transferable NFTs, called “soulbound tokens” (or SBTs for short). You may know a version of these from WoW (World of Warcraft, mom and dad). Buterin believes SBTs could act as a sort of “extended resumé, issued by your university or your employer, or gifted to you at an event. SBTs would make it tougher for scammers and identity thieves to fake credentials. It’s all meant to give people ownership over their digital selves, while moving Web3 away from its current Gold Rush mentality of pump-and-dump crypto schemes and Bored Apes.

Insider | May 25, 2022

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For the first time ever, Pride Month is coming to the metaverse, thanks to a limited-edition NFT avatar drop, and a weeklong celebration happening at The Sandbox, a decentralized virtual gaming platform that’s partnered with everyone from Snoop Dogg to The Smurfs. Called #MetaPride, the groundbreaking event was designed to combat the fact that an estimated 81% of Web3 participants are currently white men. “We believe that Web3 can only scale if diversity and inclusion are rooted in the foundation of what is being built,” explained People of Crypto Lab co-founder, Simone Berry.

A new online world that better reflects the diversity of our offline world? That’s definitely worth celebrating.

BusinessWire | May 31, 2022

#Bitcoin #crypto #Ethereum #investing #web3

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My kid wants $100K sneakers for the Metaverse. Is there a Universe where this makes sense?

A perplexed parent’s guide to NFT footwear.

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Virtual sneakers with six figure price tags. Is this really a thing?

You bet your bottom Bitcoin it is. Not just a thing, but an exploding (and highly volatile) market. Nike recently sold a pair of NFT sneakers for $134,000. Nike’s move into the Metaverse was in collaboration with RTFKT (pronounced “Artifact” — we got you), a digital-only sneaker brand that’s pioneered the recent revolution. Asics, Gucci, and other big names are all dipping an 8-bit toe into this futuristic and, yes, super confusing new market.

Still don’t get it. What’s the point of shoes that you can’t actually wear?

Maybe ask that question to thousands of sneakerheads who have been buying sneakers as a collectible commodity for more than a decade. Just like a limited edition pair of Yeezys, NFT shoes get their value based on hype and scarcity. Think of NFT technology as a way to certify uniqueness and ownership in the virtual world. So, you’re not buying an easily-duplicated image of a shoe, you’re buying a specific pair. This matters for bragging rights, and also for resale purposes.

So this is about investment, not fashion?

Actually, it’s about both. Kind of. You may think you can’t “wear” NFT sneakers, but companies like RTFKT are betting big on the fact that next gen consumers (ie, your kid) will care as much about their digital personas as their physical ones — and that they’ll suit them up accordingly. Going to a concert in The Metaverse? You’re not going to show up naked. Gamers already pay good money (estimated at about $40 billion a year, as of 2020) to outfit their in-game avatars. Now, future cross-pollination between fashion brands and video games will mean that your Grand Theft Auto avatar can escape the cops in the latest kicks.

So, back to your child, and their footwear demands. No problem. If your kid starts investing $10 a week now, at an expected annual rate of 6%, those shoes should be theirs in under 48 years!

#fashiongoals