StockX's "The Vault" bridges the gap between NFT's and Physical Assets.
The most expensive sneaker to be auctioned was the Grammy Prototype Nike Air Yeezy which went for over 1.7 million U.S. Dollars. Some may argue that it is just a shoe and does not demand such a ridiculous price tag. But that prototype is a sparking symbol of the greatness that came soon after. It was a predecessor of Kanye's work that has directly influenced the modern sneaker world and culture.
Kanye went on to make one of my favorite sneakers, the Yeezy 2 Red October, which currently goes for well over 15000 U.S. Dollars. He also came up with the Yeezy 350s and whatnot. In short, his sneakers had a massive impact on the sneaker collection. So much so that I believe it reignited the sneaker reselling game and brought back life into the Air Jordans hype.
Sneakers have now reached a point where they are argued to be in an alternative asset class. Just like watches, rare cards, real estate, everything that holds a lot of value and may or may not be considered a luxury collectible. That is why the condition of a sneaker is really important, and they are susceptible to theft and more.
One of the biggest issues that the sneaker world is facing is authenticity. It is closely followed by poor handling and maintenance. Things that can drive some luxury, discontinued sneakers' value down and can also simply wipe them off the face of the earth.
StockX may have found a smart solution - with NFTs
For those who don't know, StockX is one of the major sneaker reselling online platforms. It is my favorite medium to engage with the sneaker market. It already is ahead of the online reselling platform curve by cleverly installing a system that closely resembles the stock market.
On StockX, the market decides a sneaker's value. Just like the trading market, you place a bid or ask depending on whether you want to buy or sell. You can refer to the last trade's price and also see the current bids and asks. It creates a fairground to play on.
StockX handles the authentication and escrow. It plays a very fair middleman role for a small fee. The result is that the buyer is always getting a genuine pair with no fear of being conned with a fake and the seller is always guaranteed the payment without the fear of getting robbed.
But it still doesn't erase the problem of the declining condition of the sneaker. You see, every time a sneaker is traded, it is more likely to be damaged or lost due to handling.
This is where The Vault NFTs come in play!
StockX has again sprinted ahead in the sneaker reselling field by now merging NFTs with sneaker reselling. The platform has now decided to let its users blur the lines between physical assets and non-fungible assets with the protection served by the blockchain. Now, you can buy an NFT of a sneaker in the marketplace and own the sneaker.
The sneaker gets stored in StockX's vault and can be retrieved by the new owner whenever they please. And the reselling of the same sneaker can continue as normal with just the NFT ownership being changed.
This means lower manhandling and damage to the actual sneaker, preserving its condition and value. It means even lower risks for the buyer and seller, makes the entire process so much faster, and shipping fees don't exist anymore. The Vault.
This is a massive step forward for NFTs and their utilities. Think about how Logan Paul lost around $3,500,000 on collectible pokemon cards. Such events can now be avoided if more trusted Vault NFTs like StockX's pop-up. Assets can now be authenticated, stored, and traded without the heaps of risks they come along. I think if the real $3.5 million worth of pokemon cards were authenticated and stored as NFts, then they could have been traded without the risk of conning or damage. It would be so much safer and faster.
In a nutshell, the direction is perfect. Vault may be on to breaking in a new era of NFT utility. The only thing that annoyed me was that the NFTs are minted as ERC-1155 tokens. I think it could have been something cheaper and faster. But it is still a huge step forward.
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