There have been certain inhibitions about traditional art forms fading into oblivion, with the onset of digital art forms and styles taking the front seat.
But as the Non-Fungible Token ecosystem world evolves, and newer projects come in, those inhibitions certainly don’t seem true. With brands and various NFT projects collaborating with renowned artists, the traditional art form is staying put but is getting a digital makeover.
One such project is- Clone X from the house of digitized sneaker manufacturer RTFKT (pronounced as ‘artifact’). The Clone X collection has been designed in collaboration with Takashi Murakami, who brought in his traditional art tonality to the final set of collectibles. And it isn’t just about the collection is distinctive, but it’s been equally popular as well.
In January 2022, more than 2,700 buyers engaged with Clone X, leading to a $165 million in sales volume.
So, will Clone X be able to clone its success down the line in 2022? Let’s find out more about the collection, its price prediction for the year, and the curiosity behind its value.
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About Clone X NFTs
The Clone X NFT collections were developed keeping one thing in mind- take your avatar, wherever you go.
The Clone X NFTs from the house of RTKFT is the first portable NFTs ever designed. As mentioned above, these collectibles were designed by well-renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
Takashi’s design language brings in a distinct personality to these collectibles and gives them special personalities like eyes, mouth, clothes, etc, that are defined on the blockchain.
Another primary collaborator in the Clone X project is Daz 3D. By utilizing Daz 3D’s PFP utility kit, RTFKT has pulled off creating a diverse set of collectibles.
Clone X has been able to keep the hype around it quite well-placed since its launch. The collection was launched through a Dutch Auction, where prices of these collectibles went down until all of them were sold. The cap was kept at 3 avatars per wallet for the public sale.
What does Clone X NFT include?
The project is focused on developing avatars that are high-quality and well-equipped for the metaverse too. A total of 20,000 Clone X avatars were released in November 2021. These were sold in two formats- a presale and a public sale.
The RTKFT team has made these avatars metaverse ready by attaching a Clone meta vault allowing the users to access the 3D avatars across all platforms.
Moreover, a dedicated Clone inventory, called the Clone Wearables allows the users to customize their avatars on the platform, with unique wearables from the RTFK platform.
When it comes to the perks attached with the Clone X collection, it gives access to the RTFKT ecosystem as well as exclusive Clone X experiences.
The Background and Story Behind Clone X
The Clone X NFT project is driven by three extraterrestrial objects. They belong to a world that is located in proximity to the Draco galaxy and is referred to as ‘Orbitar’.
These objects were then introduced to human characteristics and behavior patterns to develop the final metaverse clones. The message is that while humans don’t exist in the future, there are their clones in the advanced world.
These clones have the ability to search for places that are habitable in the universe, aligning with a human’s desire for exploration.
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What is RTKFT?: The Company Behind Clone X
RTFKT, which was launched in January 2020 by three friends, uses NFT, blockchain authentication, augmented reality, and in-game engines to create one-of-its-kind digital sneakers and other artifacts.
The idea behind starting with sneakers was because sneakers traditionally have been a collectible item in themselves. Moreover, they go very well with avatar customization in games, such as streetwear.
In an interview with Forbes, the project’s co-founder Benoit Pagotto mentioned how they have further evolved from sneakers to other items.
He was quoted as saying, “This led us to fashion, with the Metajacket for example, or our Decentraland wearables, to creating Forging events, where you could forge your NFT to get unique physical sneakers or extra items.
We’ve built our brand on the Metaverse, focused on innovating and merging worlds together, trying to create a blueprint of what a brand of the future could be and inspire the next generation of creators.”
RTKFT’s belief that people aren’t restricted in the virtual world to conform themselves to societal norms, can be quite beneficial for fashion brands in the future. “Being able to create fashion pieces, and characters to wear them, and used as your identity in the metaverse, is a big new step for fashion brands of the future,” said Pagotto in the interview.
The Hype Behind RTFKT
The London-based startup’s first concept started in April 2019 and finally took off in January 2020. They gained fame by collaborating with Apex Legends, a free-to-play game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, in a digital sneaker collaboration.
Cybersneakers: The Cybersneaker drop added on to the hype parade. These Cybersneakers drop grabbed the attention of Elon Musk and Kanye West. This was the much-needed hype that the brand required and received.
The 2020 Effect: Another smart move by RTFKT was that they were smart to target the millennials and Gen Z, in the fashion and gaming arena in 2020 and 2021.
These were the years when everyone was at home due to the pandemic. The time that people spent at their homes, they started passing their time playing video games. Hence, the sneaker niche sat particularly well with them. Apart from video games, it was the online world that received a lot of traffic, as the real world seemed pretty mundane.
This was further fuelled by getting the right influencers on board, which helped RTFKT.
RTFKT x CryptoPunks: What further added to this hype was their smart collaborations with the popular NFT projects. Their collaboration with CryptoPunks in May 2021 astonished the entire industry as CryptoPunks’ price was sent to the moon, with exclusive access for each Punk owner.
Owners of these NFT collectibles got a physical sneaker, a virtual sneaker for your character, and an NFT of your sneaker.
RTFKT x Jeff Staple: Another collaboration for RTFKT included them collaborating with Jeff Staple, known for designing the Staple x Nike SB Dunk “Pigeon”.
After Jeff didn’t see a lot of limelight for a decade or so, RTFLT decided to bring him on board for a collaboration where they’d put his name on a pair of digital sneakers. The collection did pretty well and was selling at almost 20 ETH at one point in time.
RTFKT x FEWOCiOUS: RTFKT collaborated with 18-year-old digital artist Victor Langlois, hailing from Las Vegas. The NFT drop on Nifty Gateway included three physical sneakers that people could receive by signing up for the NFT drop and owning it.
The amazing utility attached with a pair of physical sneakers and an NFT collectible that’d rise in value was an amazing chance for the consumers. The amount averaged around 16 ETH last summer when they were launched.
The Roadmap for Clone X
There are certain things that make Clone X future-ready and a sought-after NFT. Here are some of the reasons that one can look at in RTFKT’s future roadmap.
Metaverse Ready: Clone X has been proactive in identifying the potential of the metaverse. The project aims at making the collectibles completely ready for the metaverse.
For this step, they have developed a Clone.meta vault to give access to 3D avatars of the characters, that can be used across various platforms.In the 3D vault, you get live 3D file updates for your clone, to be used in the metaverse. These can be downloaded in formats like .blend, .obj, .fbx, .MA, .glb, and Unreal Engine.
Forging Events: Apart from this, RTFKT also offers Forging Events, which allows a user to forge unique physical collectibles from your clone. If a user owns an NFT virtually, that RTFKT is planning a physical redemption for, then they can claim it physically with the help of forging events.
This will be done, by creating an account on RTFKT and linking it with the Metamask wallet or Bitski wallet. The wallet should contain the NFT that you want to forge and once the event is live, the sizes and shipping address can be entered accordingly. Each NFT is eligible to get the user one physical item.
According to RTFKT’s official website, there will be a number of forging events taking place.
Clonex Wearables: Moving on from forging events, there is also Clonex Wearables. These are a dedicated Clone inventory where you get new collection drops as well. This also allows users to customize their characters.
Special Access: Getting into ClonX, also gets you into an exclusive RTFKT ecosystem. There are special space pods as well where you can show off the NFTs you own and hang out with other Clone X owners. These space pods are powered by OnCyber and are exclusive to Clone X owners only.
With the Nike association as well, RTFKT seems quite bullish about 2022 and is on the right track to maintain the hype that it has maintained till now.
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Clone X NFT Prices Right Now
As of publishing this article, the floor price of 1 Clone X stood at 14.9 Ethereum or 43674.43 USD.
Launched in mid-December 2021, the Clone X collectibles were launched at a floor price of 4.158 ETH.
The prices for Clone X prices have remained relatively lesser volatile, taking the NFT market into consideration. In the last 7 days, starting from 11.188 ETH or $28,900 approximately, the prices rose to 14.88 ETH on March 19th, or around $42,000.
The prices remained somewhere between 12 ETH to 14 ETH, with the 7 day period ending at 14.9 ETH or $43,000. The 24h trading volume for Clone X is 106 sales, and according to CoinGecko, the price floor is up by 7.86%.
Why Are Clone X NFTs so valuable?
On February 1st, the first-ever million-dollar Clone X NFT was sold. The Clone X Clone #4594 was sold for a whopping $1.25 million.
When it comes to its traits, the Clone X #4594 consists of some rare traits such as White Octopus (WHT-OCTOPUS) hair with a rarity of 0.43% and a Murakami DNA, holding a rarity of 0.51%. The Clone X was bought by a Twitter user, going by the username @FTazi via OpenSea.
This is one of the many expensive sales, which are predicted for RTFKT’s Clone X collectibles. There are many reasons for the hype behind them.
Since its launch date announcement, Clone X has been able to maintain the hype around them to this date. Its never-ending comparison with the likes of The Bored Ape Yacht Club, is only adding to the value that it consists of. Similar to BAYC, the Clone X is based on utility.
As many NFT projects and brands are entering the ecosystem, with most of them focusing on the metaverse, Clone X holds the advantage of being completely metaverse-ready.
Moreover, the fact that these collectibles are portable and can be used on any platform is a sign of large-scale utility in itself.
After its launch, Clone X was able to collaborate with Nike. Nike decided to buy RTFKT in order to expand its expertise in augmented reality, blockchain, and digital assets. This news in itself alone spiked the price of RTFKT collectibles from 3 ETH to 6 ETH.
This, in itself, is a sign of the longevity of the project and ensuring that it has enough funds in the future to diversify and expand.
Price Prediction For Clone X
Clone X is touted to be one of the leading NFT collections out there. With the project consistently making into the top 10 lists for sales, it is something many NFT enthusiasts look forward to. Let’s find out how the Clone X collectibles might perform in 2022.
The Clone X NFT collectibles reached their all-time high in February, reaching a staggering $49,000. Achieving this high again seems quite feasible for Clone X. As the crypto market tries to recover gradually, so will the NFTs.
According to a report by panelists on Finder.com, Ethereum was predicted to touch $5,000 plus levels by the end of 2021.
But with the onset of global tensions, Ethereum stands at $2,918 as of publishing this article.
Ethereum is predicted to reach $6,000 levels by the end of 2022, according to a prediction. While the direct correlation between the NFT and crypto prices isn’t directly proportional, a certain degree of correlation can help Clone X to ride on the bullish crypto markets.
Clone X NFT price may rise in the future
Clone X’s performance directly depends on how the Ethereum ecosystem reacts and looks into the future.
But the Bitcoin halving event coming up in 2024, might provide a bullish push to the entire crypto market, as has been the case in previous halving events.
This combined with other factors such as an emerging interest in the blockchain ecosystem, more utility-based NFT projects, etc can positively impact the price of Clone X in the coming years.
As their holders bet on RTFKT and their sense of tapping the fashion and 3D space, there is a lot of positive sentiment around the project.
Nike and RTFKT: A Gamechanger in The NFT Universe?
Nike has been one of those brands that have adopted NFTs quite early and enthusiastically. Earlier in 2019, the brand collaborated with Roblox and Fortnite to release exclusive character skins. While the previous collaborations were something that showed the brand’s interest, its acquisition of RTFKT, helps in determining its future plans in the NFT ecosystem.
John Donahoe, President and CEO of Nike, said in a statement, “This acquisition is another step that accelerates Nike’s digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming, and culture”.
With Nike entering the metaverse space, it has a lot of opportunities to relate with Gen Z. Metaverse is technically an extension of Gen Zm and the things that they value- independence, their love for technology, and their identities. Nike, as a brand, has always been a pathbreaker.
This investment in RTFKT, allows Nike to explore Web3 and bring up opportunities for the users, highlighting democratization. Embracing RTFKT’s technological prowess and Nike’s brand value, it can logically be a gamechanger for the NFT universe.
What Makes RTFKT Technologically Better?
As Nike makes a move into the NFT universe, many large high-fashion brands are expected to make a similar move. Brands like Gucci have entered the space and are releasing virtual trainers.
While they are, no doubt, impressive artworks, the technology they have, lacks the technology to verify each and every asset in terms of its authenticity or chain of custody. This is a crucial bit in the metaverse.
This is where RTFKT stands apart. Each of their digital assets is backed by a blockchain-based certificate of ownership in the form of an NFT. This technology ensures that NFT owners will be able to collect, trade, or sell their RTFKT collectibles while securing their royalties and transactions.
This newfound ownership method enables NFT owners to experience different types of sales engagement and digital interactions that come with NFTs.
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How To Buy Clone X NFT?
There are plenty of NFT marketplaces available, offering user-friendly options for their customers. But before going to NFT Marketplaces, you need to buy Ethereum to buy NFTs.
We suggest following the steps mentioned below to buy Ethereum and then to buy Clone X NFTs.
Step 1 – Open account on eToro
You can also open an account on Platforms such as Bitstamp, Crypto.com, Binance, and Coinbase, but we suggest eToro as it is much more reputed and regulated by institutions such as FINRA, CySEC, SIPC, among others.
Just go to eToro.com and open your account.
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Step 2 – Buy Ethereum
After opening an account, do other necessary formalities such as KYC, depositing fiat money, among others. Then go to the search bar and click on Buy/Trade Ethereum.
You can buy this cryptocurrency at the most genuine rate on the internet.
Step 3 – Open a Crypto wallet
The next step would be opening a crypto wallet for keeping your crypto safe.
You can also store NFTs in your crypto wallet after you buy them.
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Step 4 – Head over to NFT Marketplaces
Once you have bought Ethereum, go to any NFT marketplace such as Opensea to buy Clone X NFTs.
As you connect your wallet, you can see information regarding the purchases you have made along with the gas fees and transaction processing time.
After hitting on the confirm button, you will receive the NFTs in no time, which can be seen in your collection.
Buying an NFT starts with setting up your NFT wallet on a trusted platform. Your NFT wallet will be your go-to place from where you conduct all the transactions.
Takeaways: The Future and Roadmap of CloneX
With various NFT projects and even social media platforms betting on PFP (Profile picture NFTs) projects, we believe that Clone X is perfect for the role.
RTFKT’s Clone X has been able to sustain the trend, sales volume, and funds to get onto the next level of collectibles. Moreover, the sheer fact that these can be used across various platforms is a major utilitarian bonus point, keeping it alongside the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).
According to some experts, the way Clone X has been raking in the numbers might be the next blue chip that one can look into.
The Clone X project certainly stands out due to its backstory and unique concept. All of these factors and a predetermined roadmap, making it ready for the metaverse raises the stake, and make NFT enthusiasts bullish about Clone X.
Many predictions by industry experts believe that 2022 might be the year when NFTs gain some utility. But this might as well be the year when 99% of the projects fail as the NFT bubble bursts. What makes this the year to rejoice in is the fact that there are some projects that might be able to stand the test of time.
So, should you get in? If your risk appetite allows you to, giving Clone X a shot, makes all the more sense. Many experts are comparing RTFKT’s Clone X with the BAYC. Hence, allowing Clone X into your NFT collection isn’t such a bad move.
FAQs
What is a Clone X NFT?
Clone X is an NFT project involving a collection of 20,000 algorithmically-generated 3D characters that are equipped for the metaverse.
Where can I buy a Clone X NFT from?
Since all the 20,000 NFT characters have already been minted, you can look at secondary NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea to buy a Clone X collectible by bidding for them. This is until the Clone X collection has another drop lined up.
Which wallet can I use for buying a Clone X NFT?
Clone X can be stored on the Metamask wallet. Metamask is one of the leading NFT wallets with secure and user-friendly features for a seamless user experience. It is available on Android as well as iOS.
What is the floor price of a Clone X NFT?
The current floor price of Clone X NFTs, as of 20th March 2022, stands at 14.99 ETH or $43,000 approximately.
Is it profitable to buy a Clone NX NFT?
Clone X collectibles are considered to be ‘the next blue chip’ NFT collectible. Moreover, their relatively lesser volatile nature makes them an ideal investment for many. Apart from that, the team at RTFKT plans to add to the utility of Clone X, increasing its demand.
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