Photographs capture a moment in time and allow us to relive our memories, but with web3, there exists an even more powerful way for that memory to be stored. It can be minted, added to a wallet, and remain on-chain forever. Proof of Attendance Protocol (or POAP for short) gives users the ability to collect attendance-based NFTs as verification of their presence at various events, notably in the metaverse as well. POAP has been applied to everything from the virtual lands of Decentraland to the physical-world US Open, enabling users to create and record memories in both worlds. However, the power of POAPs goes even further beyond this. POAP could become a useful tool for employers, shape how the metaverse is built and experienced, and even potentially be the backbone for a new form of social media.

How Do POAPs Work?

POAP is a decentralized check-in-based protocol where the collectors have self-custody of the POAPs they have obtained, and choose whether or not they are displayed to the public. POAP was created on the basis of demonstrating the power of Ethereum in 2019 at the ETH Denver Convention. However, the high gas fees that come with Ethereum made POAP relocate to the Gnosis chain in 2020, an EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) compatible blockchain designed for fast and inexpensive transactions. Now users, organizations, or companies are able to mint a collection of POAPs and distribute them to those that chose to attend an applicable event. As of April 22nd, POAP is regularly issued by 8,000 organizations and 4.5 million have already been distributed to 800,000 unique wallets.

In order to prevent duplication or potential fake POAPs, the only way POAPs can be minted is through the official POAP smart contract. This allows it to hold metadata regarding the date and location of the POAP in addition to assigning the POAP with an identifiable photo or logo. Users are able to collect POAPs mainly through QR codes that they can scan at POAP events, but there are other ways a user can claim one. POAPs can be airdropped to wallets or manually sent by an event organizer. On April 7th, POAP announced GitPOAP which allows projects to mint POAPs directly to their contributors, further expanding the reach and application of POAPs. While their main use is commemorative collectibles as of late, POAPs have the ability to change numerous industries.

The Use Employers Have for POAPs

POAPs enable employers to view the verifiable experiences of their holders. This can revolutionize the way the world hires employees, as employers could heavily benefit from viewing a credible employee application. As POAP continues to grow, and the number of different POAPs heightens, employers could search for applicants based on specific POAPs they hold. If a company is looking for an employee with long-term experience in a given field, POAP accounts for that as well. Organizations can look at someone’s POAPs and determine their activity, dedication, and passion for the field. For example, say an applicant attends a Twitter space and claims the correlating POAP, and continues to attend events and collect their respective POAPs over a given period of time. Their collection would demonstrate their loyalty and genuine interest in a given subject matter, a quality an employer may find admirable.

POAPs and the Metaverse

A large power POAPs hold is the ability to track and verify attendance to events in both the metaverse and the real world. As technology advances and the metaverse continues to be built, POAPs will serve as a way to legitimize achievements in the virtual world. Furthermore, those that choose to work or attend various events in the metaverse can have their proudest moments tokenized into a POAP and kept forever in their wallet. Those who even wish to get married in the metaverse can mint a collection of POAPs to distribute to the attendees should they choose.

Some metaverse worlds could even have the potential to be unlocked only by owning a specific POAP. Worlds or lands could be completely exclusive and have more tight-knit communities if they require a common POAP.

POAPs Role in Social Media

When discussing POAPs on The First Mint Podcast, founder of POAP Patricio Worthalter mentioned the applications POAP could have for a new social media platform, where users are able to follow accounts or befriend others based on their POAPs. A dating app could easily be created on this basis. On this platform, users would be able to match with their desired partner based on similar POAPs they may have collected. For instance, if someone collects a POAP from a concert, a built-in algorithm could attempt to match that person with a person that has that same POAP or one of that nature. Instead of searching for desired interests their partner has, users can search for a significant POAP instead. An app like this could prove to be a much more effective match-based system than those that currently exist.

The Future of POAPs

As mentioned above, GitPOAP was just released and hopes to further develop how POAPs are used in web3. Worthalter discussed how POAP could have a future role in the gaming industry, but more notably how POAP can also verify the responsibility and credentials of a holder (ex. getting a loan from a bank). Beyond being used for vetting potential employees, POAPs could reach a point where they are able to guarantee the identity of a user, helping anti-botting protocol and helping founders distribute whitelist spots to the most deserving candidates. However, the future may be further than we realized. Even with over 800k wallets owning POAPs, at the 2021 US Open, only 7 of the 631,134 attendees minted their POAP. Mass adoption of web3 is critical for POAP’s success, and that is a current issue facing its ability to thrive in the future. Regardless, there is a bright future for how we store our memories, our achievements, our ownership, and our lives.

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Disclaimer: This report is for educational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. Additionally, the author may hold any of the assets mentioned.

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