For Adidas, it’s more than a payments plugin and throwing cryptocurrency into the mix for any future sneaker drops.

During NFT Paris 2023, Adidas’ Web3 lead Erika Wykes-Sneyd told Decrypt that the shoe manufacturer has certainly talked about the possibility of conducting token-gated sneaker drops, but isn’t sure if doing that is actually addressing any industry gaps.

Adidas, whose first foray into Web3 was back in December 2021 when it purchased a Bored Ape NFT from BAYC, subsequently led its “Into the Metaverse” drop that same month, garnering $23.4 million USD in a single afternoon.

Wykes-Sneyd briefly touched upon the use of crypto and utilizing token-gated strategies for future drops, emphasizing that with the these tactics, crypto communities can address the industry’s current “bot issue,” rather than having to battle against bots swooping up all the sneakers.

“There are interesting payments in Apecoin and some of the other coins that are coming out that could be even more surprising if Adidas was going to maybe gate exclusive drops for specific communities and specific currencies,” she said. “I think that’s something that might be more compelling to us…that’s stuff we’re starting to scope out now.”

In December, RTFKT revealed its prototype for Cryptokicks iRL, which it described as the “first native Web3 sneaker” that integrates what it says is the next evolution of smart sneaker technology. The shoe pays homage to the limited edition Nike Mag, the futuristic metallic auto-lacing shoes that debuted in the 1989 film, Back to the Future 2.

This month, Balmain announced its $1,200 USD “Unicorn” sneaker is finally getting its digital counterpart that will accompany physical versions  of the shoes in an upcoming sale that goes live in March.

In other news, read about Web3 fashion brand DRx launching its new collection.