Web3 is changing the way people save their digital records of important life events. They are increasingly using POAP NFTs to save and relive special memories, such as attending a music festival or a tech conference. It only gets better when they are rewarded for owning a POAP.

POAP Gallery

POAP stands for Proof of Attendance Protocol. These are digital badges in the form of unique NFTs given, for instance, to attendees of an event to prove their presence or for achieving something, like getting rewarded for participating in community activities.  They are being widely used by brands for their exclusive virtual and physical events. Brands such as Adidas, Budweiser, Estee Lauder, Coach, Lottie London, TIME Magazine, FOX, the US Open, Cisco, Decentraland, and Sandbox regularly invest in POAP to build and reward loyal community members.

Adidas - Decentraland POAP NFT

Besides, marketing and community-related activities, POAPs can also be used to create on-chain resumes. For example, one can collect POAP NFTs to showcase community involvement, conferences, and events attended. They serve as evidence of one’s true interest in a subject, as well as their ability to learn more about it and participate in it.

POAP NFTs were first released in 2019 at the ETHDenver hackathon, which is the world's largest WEB3 hackathon. They were created to honor and reward attendees who showed up at the event. Read about the history of POAP here.

Not all NFTs can be POAP. For an NFT to be a verified POAP, certain criteria must be fulfilled:

• It should be built on the Ethereum blockchain
• Must be on ERC-721 tokens
• Must be minted using the official POAP smart contract
• Should contain specific details like metadata related to a specific time and date
• Include a custom image in PNG format
• Mention how many tokens are required

Other optional event details like website links and so on can be shared while minting a POAP NFT. Every NFT that complies with the required format, on approval generates a unique ID. When attendees at an event scan a QR code, they receive their unique NFT in their wallets, which authenticates their attendance. Alternatively, the event organizers can also send participants an email with a downloadable link. If required POAPs can be migrated to the Ethereum blockchain, by paying the required gas fee.

Originally built on the Ethereum mainnet POAP moved to Gnosis Chain, a sidechain of Ethereum in October 2020. This reduced the gas fee and made POAP NFTs free for collectors. As a result, POAP NFTs grew popular with both brands and collectors. With the rising acceptability builders started coming up with new and varied use cases for this form of digital asset.

POAP NFTs today are used for different purposes, most commonly for:

• Community Polls
• Conference Discounts
• Airdrop Targeting
• Social Graphs
• Reward active members of the community using poap.fun
• Access to VIP events

In some cases, using poap.vote POAP owners may even be granted voting rights in DAO (Decentralized Automated Organization). The more POAPs you own, the greater may be your voting power. POAP NFTs can be used to create gated communities, for example for products, services, or even games. Only POAP owners will be able to participate in these communities where meaningful conversations can take place.

The value of a POAP NFT is defined by the context in which it is used. Generally, there are three types of POAP NFTs issued to collectors-collection, reward, and recognition-based. A collectible POAP is meant to be kept as a record by the collector. A reward POAP entitles its holders to utilities or benefits attached to it issued by the creator of the POAP. A recognition POAP is meant to be exclusive, and it's more about the bragging rights that come along with it.

The POAP ecosystem has had a significant impact on the digital marketing landscape. They offer new possibilities of creating value for both brands and collectors. POAP NFTs have proven themselves to be a reliable method of building communities and engagement with them. As they are issued for free by the makers, they have the potential to reach a wider audience outside the realms of the crypto-world.

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