StockX Vault NFT Sneakers: What Are They and What’s to Come | Complex

Last week, StockX announced that it was getting into NFTs. This is a big deal for both the crypto and sneaker communities, as it leaves an indelible mark on what’s to come by bringing both worlds together.

With brands like Nike and Adidas already having NFT projects under their belts, it makes sense for the mammoth reseller marketplace to enter the fold as well. Comparatively, StockX is setting itself up for its marketplace to host a few different deliverables with NFTs and sneakers that other companies haven’t quite tackled yet.

StockX’s first NFT venture is Vault, which uses tokens as a representation of authenticity and provenance for its sneaker resale market. This is helpful for those who flip sneakers as a speculative asset, where it eliminates having to send authenticated shoes back and forth.

StockX is hoping to use NFTs as a tool to reward top-dollar spenders and collectors. For its first reward, StockX held a giveaway of eight Kaws figurines that only NFT holders could enter. The idea of using NFTs as a way of gating-off and rewarding super-fans has been a growing trend, with StockX looking to utilize its strong community of collectors to reward behaviors those people are already engaging in. 

With a heavy emphasis on Vault for its entry into NFTs, StockX’s execution of tying NFTs to sneakers made sense. However, there are a lot of questions remaining about how people are supposed to behave within this marketplace that differs from how other NFT platforms are set up: How are resellers supposed to price-in this “value add” of an NFT? What NFTs will be sold separately from sneakers? Will users be able to resell NFTs they buy off StockX on other platforms like OpenSea? Let’s break down what we know.