Key Takeaways:
- One could only receive a POAP token by being physically present at the event in question, this means that the holder can prove their identity without revealing it.
- POAP tokens first popped up during crypto events as scannable QR codes.
- The end effect of POAPs is building an easily sustainable infrastructure that facilitates social networking.
From elementary school to university level, everyone remembers a binding similarity — attendance record. Ranging from casual to strict compliance, attendance has been used as a metric on a case-by-case basis.
With NFTs tokenizing attendance, those days may be over, and a new standardized and sustainable era is arising.
POAP NFTs Explained
The blockchain world is nothing but innovative. It forces people to take courses on terms that were non-existent just a year prior. First it was a blockchain, then it was Bitcoin, then it was
Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and now we are in the stage of blockchain games and NFTs. The latter are especially prone to pushing the envelope of innovation.
Because non-fungible tokens can tokenize every human activity that is recordable in digital form, so too can attendance.
POAP tokens first popped up during crypto events as scannable QR codes. When the attendees scanned these badges, they achieved a couple of things:
- They redeemed attendance NFTs
- They gained proof of their physical presence because each POAP token is unique.
Two years ago, ETHDenver and DappCon were the first to introduce the token, which is befitting since they are both the world’s largest hackathons, congregating Web3 developers.
In fact, it was at ETHDenver 2019 that one of the hackathon projects launched POAP to document fellow participants. Since then, any major crypto event worth note started issuing their own attendance NFTs, commonly called badges.
Predictably, these badges would then turn into POAP collections, with their value derived from physical travels all around the globe, usually to Ethereum-centered events.
With proof in a crypto wallet, holders of POAP then have an asset that may open many doors:
- Expedited reviews or articles
- Social graphs
- Airdrop eligibility
- VIP events
- Polls and other types of voting
- Discounts on similar conferences
- Undercollateralized lending
In short, whatever the badge issuers deem as the most appropriate for their type of project, they can encourage with attendance NFTs. Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin himself, endorsed the concept early on.
The more recent trend is that metaverse platforms are embracing POAPs. Such is the case with Decentraland, which issues badges to commemorate milestones and in-game events.
For instance, when MetaMask celebrated the 10M user count milestone last year, ConsenSys held a party and issued POAP tokens:
The end effect of Proof of Attendance Protocol is building an easily sustainable infrastructure that facilitates social networking.
Furthermore, participants, usually hackathon coders, can poll each other on a wide range of technical topics, sure in the knowledge that only colleagues in relevant fields are contributing to providing these data sets.
While this may not provide a direct monetary value as such, tokens do provide a physical value.
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How Does POAP Work
Like any other ERC-721 smart contract representing NFTs, POAP token is hosted on the Ethereum blockchain, currently across 21,460 holders. However, instead of the usual financial transactions, this smart contract contains the metadata related to the event: time, date, event logo.
Early on in October 2020, to avoid ETH gas fees, POAP migrated to xDai, a layer 2 scalability solution for Ethereum, now known as Gnosis Chain. If you already have a MetaMask wallet, it is easy to explore the token collection by using the official DApp.
More POAP Benefits
Because one could only receive a POAP token by being physically present at the event in question, this means that the holder can prove their identity without revealing it.
Therefore, instead of making their personal info vulnerable, they can simply use Ethereum’s blockchain to anonymously control their privacy.
Likewise, potential employers are likely to view these tokens as more credible than simple statements and fungible references.
In addition, these badges can replace mailing lists, as event organizers gain direct outreach access to specific audiences they are looking for.
Finally, in the case that an event yields a historic milestone, POAP holders gain a remembrance asset that is bound to appreciate as a cultural artifact.
Setting Up POAP Badges
Issuing a POAP token is as easy as filling out a form on the official app. Once completed and the event image logo selected (usually in .png or .apng format), the event organizer receives an email holding POAP claim and edit codes.
The latter is convenient in the case the event needs to be updated, such as time or location.
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