- Coinbase has acquired the mobile crypto wallet startup BRD, and has signed an obscure deal with giant sportswear firm Adidas.
- “The BRD team will be joining Coinbase Wallet to help accelerate web3 adoption,” Coinbase said.
- Adidas and other sportswear firms are eying the metaverse.
Coinbase has acquired the mobile crypto wallet startup BRD. The crypto exchange has also inked an obscure deal with giant sportswear firm Adidas.
Adam Traidman and Aaron Voisine, co-founders at BRD, revealed Wednesday that the BRD team will resume its mission at Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US, where they will strive to “bring the power of decentralization to even more users around the globe.”
Coinbase’s official Twitter account confirmed the news, saying “the BRD team will be joining Coinbase Wallet to help accelerate web3 adoption.” Coinbase added that BRD will bring expertise in self-custody for the company, saying:
The team brings deep expertise in self-custody for crypto wallets, which will help Wallet enable more people to safely and securely access the decentralized world of crypto.
BRD started as a mobile crypto wallet back in 2014. However, the company has been constantly adding new functionalities by partnering with crypto exchanges. As of now, BRD enables users to trade, purchase, sell, and swap crypto assets.
The BRD co-founders noted that, in the future, users would be able to migrate to Coinbase Wallet, which would also “include a special gift” for them. “At this time, nothing will change in the BRD wallet app and as always, your funds are safe and secure,” they added.
Notably, the BRD app had just over half a million monthly active users at the beginning of 2020. However, courtesy of the pandemic, the app onboarded more than six million users. The app now claims to have over 10 million customers from around the world.
Coinbase Partners With Adidas
Giant German multinational sportswear brand Adidas Originals announced a partnership with Coinbase on Thursday. “We partnered with Coinbase. Probably nothing,” Adidas Originals tweeted. Affirming the news, Coinbase said “gm Adidas originals. Welcome to the party, partner!”
gm @adidasoriginals. Welcome to the party, partner! https://t.co/fWlrf3B2JM
— Coinbase (@coinbase) November 24, 2021
Neither Coinbase nor Adidas disclosed further details about the part partnership. However, a couple of days prior to the partnership, Adidas had tweeted with a crypto bent. “AdiVerse anyone?” the company said.
Without providing more information, a Coinbase spokesperson said the deal marks a positive step for the crypto space. “It is a very positive development to see more companies enter the cryptoeconomy. We look forward to seeing all of the opportunities for brands in this growing space,” a spokesperson told The Block.
Notably, the deal comes just days after Adidas Originals acquired a 144-parcel space in The Sandbox’s metaverse, stating that they are “headed for the Sandbox with our first immersive and always-on virtual experience.”
More recently, another sportswear company Nike unveiled its virtual space, dubbed Nikeland, a 3D universe where players can connect, create, share experiences, and compete using avatars that can outfit virtual Nike products.
All of this is part of a larger trend where giant tech companies are heavily investing in the metaverse, otherwise known as the next iteration of the internet. This month alone, KuCoin dedicated a $100 million fund to support metaverse projects, Time Magazine partnered with Galaxy Digital to promote metaverse education, and Microsoft revealed its metaverse plans with Mesh.
