While some brands Puma walked away from Web3 in 2023 during a long crypto winter, staying the course and head of its emerging technology division. Ivan Dashkov He told TechCrunch+ that He has no intention of leaving.
after After two years of working with web3, Puma’s tech revenues remain modest, but the sportswear manufacturer intends to be ready for a more crypto-friendly future. “Web3 represents a major shift in how people use the Internet,” Dashkov said. Such changes in how the internet is used can lead to shifts in the landscape for brands, something Puma is keenly aware of.
Dashkov explained that the company “missed the boat” in the big waves of e-commerce and social media that have occurred in the past few decades, so it wants to be early in this space. “We don’t think the way space is today is going to be what it’s going to look like in four or five years, but we want to be ready.”
In February 2022, Puma registered its first Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain, Puma.eth. ENS domains are very popular among Ethereum users who want accessible addresses, usually associated with themselves or a brand, rather than copying and pasting a string of randomly generated letters and numbers.
In June 2023, Puma launched the BlackStation and BlackStation 2, which are website It stands for “3D experiential spatial playground,” which is a lot of words to describe basically the metaverse. I tested the login page and found it to be a bit slow and confusing (Disclaimer: I’m not a big fan of gaming, so maybe I’m missing the point, but I imagine not every Puma fan is.) Regardless, it’s a bit slow and confusing, Dashkoff said, and the Metaverse aims to provide consumers with a different take on To interact with the brand.