Big brands continue to hype crypto and metaverse

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Key points to remember

  • Several brands, including Budweiser, Pepsi, Adidas, and Nike, are engaging in crypto and metaverse.
  • These efforts are primarily focused on NFTs, as well as interest in crypto domains and the metaverse.
  • Despite the growing popularity of crypto and NFTs, some companies have suffered a backlash from their efforts.

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Multi-billion dollar brands are rushing into the metaverse by buying NFTs, buying ENS domains, and embracing crypto language.

Budweiser and Pepsi embark on NFTs

In August, at the height of the so-called ‘NFT Summer’, Budweiser became one of the first household names to get involved in crypto. He purchased the Ethereum Name Service domain “beer.eth” and an NFT space rocket and used both in his Twitter profile.

Budweiser continued the trend on November 30 by announcing its own NFT series, which will feature 1,900 digital collectibles. These tokens will allow owners to access the so-called “Budverse,” a platform for perks and rewards that have yet to be announced.

Budweiser isn’t the only beverage company making forays into this space. Pepsi has announced its own NFT collection called “Pepsi Mic Drop”, which will include 1,893 NFT Ethereum.

Today, a waitlist on the company’s website opened, allowing users to register their wallets for the next drop set on December 14.

VaynerNFT, led by Gary Vaynerchuck, is helping Pepsi create these tokens. Vaynerchuck praised Pepsi for “embracing one of the most significant technological changes in our lives”, adding that NFTs can “change the culture of value creation forever”.

Nike and Adidas engage with Metaverse

Other examples abound in a rather different sector: sportswear, where Adidas and Nike have taken part in the trend.

Adidas bought a Bored Ape Yacht Club token this month for 46 ETH (currently worth $ 180,000), a move that mirrored Visa’s earlier decision to buy an NFT CryptoPunks in August.

In addition to this purchase, Adidas is working with two other NFT leaders: crypto influencer gmoney.eth and digital comic book series PUNKS Comic. Details of these collaborations are still unknown.

Meanwhile, competitor Nike filed for several patents for crypto-related virtual goods in November. Much earlier, the company patented CryptoKicks, physical shoes associated with a digital NFT.

The company also created Nikeland in the Roblox sandbox game, although that effort doesn’t appear to use NFTs.

Backlash against pro-crypto brands

The trend for digital goods was accelerated in October when Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook changed its name to Meta in an attempt to focus on virtual reality rather than its social network.

NFTs received a boost earlier in the year as popular companies like Twitter, TikTok and Time Magazine created their own NFT lines and big auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s managed NFT auctions. valuable.

However, not everyone is happy that brands are moving closer to crypto. A great example of a setback was seen this week, as Pepsi and Budweiser attempted a cringe-worthy conversation on Twitter.

Company social media executives used the crypto investor term WAGMI (short for “We are all going to do this”) and addressed each other as “fren.” Solana, in turn, mocked Pepsi’s attempts to engage with crypto by telling it to “stick with the sugar water.”

Other companies have experienced a larger setback. Discord has abandoned its recent NFT plans following backlash over the environmental costs of mining cryptocurrency. Other companies offering NFT plans such as Sega, Ubisoft, and Artstation have faced similar criticisms. Even Kickstarter has been criticized for this reason even though it has chosen to use a carbon negative blockchain.

Despite these controversies, the widespread adoption of crypto in the real world could lead some of the most recognizable global brands to become more involved in the space.

Disclaimer: At the time of writing, the author owned BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies.

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