RTFKT’s Cryptokicks Back On Track? Here’s what you need to know

by James · May 16, 2023

In a highly anticipated move, RTFKT has started the claim process for its Cryptokicks iRL sneakers. Web3 first caught a glimpse of the Cryptokicks at nft now’s The Gateway, where the physical, NFT-backed shoes were revealed to have cutting-edge features like customizable lighting, automatic lacing, wireless charging and more.

Now, holders of NFTs from the Cryptokiks iRL collection finally have a timeline for when they can expect their corresponding physical sneakers to arrive. And it all has to do with “deburring” and “forging.”

Claim your kicks

When the Cryptokicks collection was first introduced back in December, RTFKT announced at the same time Interdimensional hub. Using the hub, holders of Lace Engine NFTs (essentially Cryptokicks mint passes) will be able to reserve their sneakers by minting a “hubbed Cryptokicks iRL” NFT to be used at a later date to claim their sneakers.

The later date turned out to be May 15, when RTFKT opened the hookup process, giving holders of hubbed Cryptokicks the ability to fake their NFTs. Forging, a staple of the RTFKT ecosystem, is a transaction that allows a user to claim a physical wearable and tag the NFT as claimed in the process.

In the case of Cryptokicks, unhubbing and forging are essentially the same and allow users to enter a US shipping address on the company’s website to redeem the physical iRL sneaker for shipping. It is important to note that this process ends on May 29 and is only available to US-based Cryptokicks holders – a legal consideration that was explained by RTFKT co-founder Steven Vasilev shortly after the first Cryptokicks mint.

ATTENTION: Cryptokicks iRL Hubbed NFT holders 👋

You will have the option to select a US shipping address for your Hubbed sneakers between May 15th and May 29th. Stay tuned next week for further details on how the Unhubbing process will work 👀

— RTFKT (@RTFKT) 4 May 2023

During the claim period – which comes at the end of the RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1s forge event – buying, selling, transferring or trading Cryptokick’s iRL-hubbed NFTs will be temporarily disabled to prevent holders from selling their sneakers after completed forging event. To this end, Cryptokicks iRL the contract was locked on May 15, the start of the claim window, to prevent potential inconvenience or confusion.

When the claim window closes on May 29, RTFKT will update the metadata on all non-hubbed NFTs, changing their state from hubbed to forged and in turn reintroducing trading in the process. Shipping of the Cryptokicks iRL sneakers is set start in Augustbut only those who lace up their sneakers before the window closes will be able to receive physicals.

This influential event marks a significant development in the digital fashion space and a particularly important milestone in the relationship between RTFKT and its parent company, Nike. As the boundaries between digital and physical continue to blur in the metaverse, RTFKT’s innovative approach is undoubtedly leading the way, with Cryptokicks providing proof of the limitless possibilities of NFTs and RTFKT’s vision well beyond the current scope of digital wearables.

Editor’s note: This article was written by an nft employee in collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-4.