Adidas Says It’ll Grow From NFT Loophole That Let Buyer Hog 300 Collectibles
By Mikelle Leow, 22 Dec 2021
Adidas’ plunge into the crypto world has been one of the most significant in fashion so far. For its move into the metaverse, the sportswear giant partnered with tastemakers Punks Comic, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and gmoney to make Adidas Originals NFTs a reality.
Drumming up the hype were the 20,000 NFTs that the brand gave away for free to early-access customers. This was certainly a cause for attention, and all 30,000 Bored Ape collectibles generated for the actual sale over the weekend were fully minted (converted into digital assets) in no time. In total, Adidas raked in over US$23 million in Ethereum from that one launch, Engadget reports.
With that being said, the sale did not come without its own set of problems, as one would expect; the countless unknowns in the crypto sphere bring risks to any decision made. Adidas emphasized that it worked to make this one perfect, but things still didn’t go as planned.
A technical glitch forced Adidas to pause minting—and despite enforcing caps of two NFTs per buyer, at least one collector found a loophole that allowed them to make off with some 330 digital collectibles, which prevented others from snagging a piece.
According to an explainer by blockchain engineer Montana Wong, via Crypto News, this wily investor deployed a custom smart contract that generated 165 sub smart contracts to buy two NFTs each before self-destructing.
In spite of the hiccups, Adidas ultimately determined its NFT debut a success.
Video via Adidas
“Our collective goal [with NFT partners] was to achieve the most inclusive distribution… To achieve our shared goal, we limited tokens/transaction and transactions/wallet. To evade bots, we announced the time as near to the drop as possible. To warn about the risks of evolving Web3, we worked with our partners to create educational material, FAQ and a Discord,” Adidas shared in a lengthy statement on Twitter after the sale. “Even with all the measures we took, it wasn’t perfect.”
The company, however, expressed feeling encouraged by the fact that its move inspired crypto first-timers to experience “the thrills and risks of Web3.” It added: “We’ll never stop learning.”
“Those of you who lost gas during the Early Access pause, you will be refunded as soon as we complete the process of checking all transactions,” said Adidas. “Those who felt hurt by gas in the public sale, we are learning from it.”
Adidas assured interested collectors who couldn’t nab digital tokens due to differences in timezones that “our journey here is just beginning.”
“This NFT drop is the beginning of Into the Metaverse, not the end. We have more in store to share in the new year.”
These first steps didn’t come without their tumbles, but they’ve validated a demand in crypto collaborations that has even spilled over into secondary marketplaces. For anyone putting their trust elsewhere, Adidas has also let out a word of caution: “If you’re exploring the secondary marketplace, make sure to only use the verified OpenSea link.”
In a statement published by Ad Age, Mike Proulx, CMO research lead at research and advisory firm Forrester, described that NFTs are “moving chaotically fast” considering that they are only at the infancy stage. “This means that mistakes will happen, and loopholes will be discovered,” but “that’s the very nature of innovation.”
Brands just have to grow through these teething pains, and in time, build best practices and ways to bring long-term value, Proulx added.
[via Ad Age and Crypto News, images via Adidas]