Adidas Originals & Coinbase Strike Partnership, But Keep Details Vague

The Adidas brand Adidas Originals has announced it has made a foray into the world of crypto – with a purposely obscure tweet about a partnership with the American exchange heavyweight Coinbase.

With a cryptic bent, the brand wrote:

“We’ve partnered with Coinbase. Probably nothing.”

Coinbase replied with the popular crypto community greeting “gm” (shorthand for good morning), and tagged Adidas Originals, writing: “Welcome to the party, partner!”

The move comes just days after Adidas Originals teamed up with metaverse player The Sandbox, buying a 144-parcel space in the game’s virtual space, with a map description explaining:

“Adidas Originals is diving into the Metaverse and headed for the Sandbox with our first immersive and always-on virtual experience. Join us as we take our first steps into this brave new world of originality.”

The Sandbox responded by tweeting, with reference to phrases used in Adidas marketing:

“Impossible is nothing in the Metaverse. What if we invite all of the original thinkers and do-ers to design our future together?”

Some observers have suggested the Coinbase partnership may be linked with Adidas Orginals’ The Sandbox move, with others on Twitter suggesting that the sportswear-maker may be looking to launch a non-fungible token (NFT)-based line of virtual clothing to be used in metaverse spaces – with Coinbase acting as a marketplace.

"It is a very positive development to see more companies enter the cryptoeconomy. We look forward to seeing all of the opportunities for brands in this growing space," a spokesperson of Coinbase told Cryptonews.com without elaborating any further.

Cryptonews.com has contacted Adidas Originals, and The Sandbox operator Animoca Brands for comment.

The Adidas rival Nike has been looking to acquire patents for virtual clothing items this month, and has struck its own deal with Roblox Corporation, the maker of the Roblox game.

Firms like Southeby’s and Coca Cola have also partnered with Dencentraland, and metaverse players claim that other similar deals are likely forthcoming – with big-name brands afraid of missing out on the fast-growing popularity of metaverse projects.

Other crypto community members mused that the Adidas Original move might have nothing to do with NFTs and the metaverse after all – and instead be an indication that Adidas could be ready to start accepting crypto payments for physical goods.

And one urged the clothing giant to “partner with some up-and-coming artists for real clout [around] here.”

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Learn more:

- Nike & Microsoft Rush Into Metaverse, Thai Banking Giant Goes Crypto + More News
- Zuckerberg Makes Another Meta Move, Coinbase Subscription + More News

- SAND Rallies as Sandbox Unveils its Upcoming Metaverse Event
- Tokens.com Buys USD 2.8M Worth of Virtual Land in Upcoming Fashion District

- Watch: VP of WazirX NFT Marketplace on NFT Trends, Challenges, Solutions, and More
- Watch: CryptoBirb on Trends in Crypto Trading, His Exit Strategy, Bear Market, and More

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(Updated at 14:26 UTC with a comment from a Coinbase spokesperson.)