In December, Nike acquired virtual sneaker designer RTFKT (pronounced "artifact"). Over $11 million has now been spent on the company's first virtual sneaker set.

Sneakers are collector's items, so it's not uncommon for rare ones to fetch exorbitant prices. Limited edition Yeezys regularly sell for five figures, and shoes with historical value, such as those worn by Michael Jordan during iconic games, can fetch more than a million dollars at auction. A recent purchase, however, is likely to go down as one of the more unusual sales in sneaker history: someone paid $130,000 for a pair of virtual Nike sneakers.

Of course, the sneaker in question is an NFT. It's part of the Nike Dunk Genesis Cryptokicks collection, which includes 20,000 upcoming NFTs released by Nike and RTFKT ("artifact"), a virtual sneaker designer that Nike acquired last December.

The NFT in question is a one-of-a-kind model with a colorway created by renowned artist Takashi Murakami. There are only 98 of the 20,000 virtual sneakers in the set with the design shown above, making it a rare collectors item. (If you like that sort of thing.) Since the collection's release last Friday, punters have been paying between $5,000 and $9,000 for the generic sneakers (1.75 to 3 ether).

Whether you believe in the metaverse or not, many businesses believe it is the way of the future. One of them is Nike. In addition to purchasing RTFKT in December, Nikeland in Roblox, an online "metaverse" visited by millions of people every day, was created.

It isn't the only clothing brand with an eye on Web3: in December, Adidas released its Into The Metaverse collection of 30,000 upcoming NFTs, in collaboration with the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Ownership of the NFT guarantees drops of both virtual and real-life clothing, a strategy used by Dolce & Gabbana as well. Gucci took a different approach, collaborating with blue-chip NFT collections to outfit Pudgy Penguins, World of Women, and Bored Ape Yacht Club avatars in Gucci clothing.

RTFKT is the brains behind Clone X, one of the most successful upcoming NFT collections. It's a collection of 20,000 3D anime-inspired profile picture art designed by Takashi Murakami, and its owners include Justin Bieber. Clone X membership currently costs slightly more than $50,000, but it comes with perks. Holders received a mysterious box in February that contained a pair of Nike Dunk Genesis Cryptokicks and an assortment of vials that can be equipped to the sneaker to change its colorway after weeks of speculation.

Yes, the shoes that are currently selling for thousands of dollars were airdropped for free to Clone X owners.

There are eight different vials, some of which are more common than others, which explains why the Murikami sneakers cost so much. The vials themselves can be sold, and they fetch exorbitant prices. One alien vial, the only type rarer than the Murikami vial, fetched $449,000 at auction (150 ether). According to RTFKT, holders can complete online quests that will "evolve" the sneaker's skins.

There are currently no plans for holders of these NFTs to receive physical versions of their digital goods, though a Snapchat filter has been created so that owners can wear their kicks in AR. So far, slightly more than a third of Clone X owners have opened their mystery boxes, implying that two-thirds of the Cryptokicks have yet to enter circulation.