UPDATE (12/24/2019): Nike was recently issued its patent for blockchain-compatible sneakers, a system the sportswear brand is calling “CrpytoKicks.” The patent was filed earlier this year and outlines a system where blockchain can be used to attach digital assets to a physical product. In Nike’s case, the physical product would be sneakers.

According to TNW, when a pair of “CryptoKicks” is purchased, a digital asset unique to the shoe comes with it. This combination creates a full package that ensures the shoes’ authenticity, even as it moves from buyer to buyer. “When a consumer buys a genuine pair of shoes a digital representation of a shoe may be generated, linked with the consumer, and assigned a cryptographic token, where the digital shoe and cryptographic token collectively represent a ‘CryptoKick,’” states the patent.

Thanks to resale, sneakers often change owners. The “CrpytoKicks” system can neatly keep track of a pair’s ownership by transferring the shoe’s unique digital assets over to the new buyer. Owners of these digital representations of physical shoes would be able to store them within a “Digital Locker” app that functions like a cryptocurrency wallet.

Playing off of the current customization craze (and perhaps even the continued popularity of games like Pokémon), “CryptoKicks” owners will have the option to “intermingle or breed the digital shoe with another digital shoe to create ‘shoe offspring’ and have the offspring made as a new, tangible pair of shoes.”

There hasn’t been word of an official launch for “CrpytoKicks,” but now that the US Patent Office has approved the patent, some features could arise in the near future.

ORIGINAL STORY (4/25/2019): Following its “Footware” application earlier this month, Nike is adding more legal prowess by filing a trademark patent for “Cryptokicks.” As reported by Bitcoinist, details listed on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) website indicate that the company may be headed to launch its own cryptocurrency network.

The application outlines several goods and services in which the term would apply, such as cryptocurrency software wallets and hardware wallets, “operating an online marketplace featuring footwear and clothing,” and “downloadable computer software for managing cryptocurrency transactions using blockchain technology.”

Several other elements are expected to be covered under the trademark, including points signaling that a potential mobile app may be underway in conjunction with the “Cryptokicks” word mark:

“Downloadable mobile applications for providing access to crypto-collectibles, crypto-art and application tokens…downloadable software and mobile applications using artificial intelligence.”

The entire registration, which was filed on April 19, can be viewed by visiting USPTO’s trademark database and searching “Cryptokicks.”

Elsewhere in the crypto-community, Quadriga CX’s CEO Gerry Cotten passed last month, taking along with him $190 million CAD of its customers’ investments.