From Boom to Bust: The Rapid Rise and Fall of Major Brands’ NFTs. Is the Craze Finally Over?
In the frenzy of the crypto bull market in 2021, major brands jumped on the bandwagon, launching their own Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to cash in on the lucrative trend. However, as the value of cryptocurrencies took a hit, many of these NFT projects lost steam and were either abandoned or downsized. Recent data from Non-Fungible shows that NFT sales plummeted by a staggering 83% in 2022, leaving many wondering if the NFT craze has finally ended.
In a surprising move, coffee giant Starbucks entered the NFT arena in December with its project, Starbucks Odyssey. This project offers an innovative extension to their rewards program, allowing users to earn rewards for buying coffee, completing online quizzes, and playing games. Dubbed a “revolutionary Web3 experience” by Starbucks, the company boasts that this initiative will introduce a cutting-edge model for loyalty programs in the future.
Since its beta launch in December, Starbucks Odyssey has already generated an astonishing amount of funding, with over $200,000 in sales completed. The NFTs, priced a little more than a few cups of coffee, have been selling for up to $1,900 on the secondary market, sparking excitement among crypto enthusiasts who see it as a perfect mainstream entry point for the technology. Bank of America analysts have also praised the program, stating it’s “more holistic than the industry’s previous NFT efforts.”
Recently, a new batch of 2,000 Starbucks NFTs was released, which promptly sold out within minutes for $100 each, leading to a website crash due to the frenzy of activity. Buyers were quick to exhibit their purchases on social media.
However, despite the hype, whether the average coffee drinker will integrate Starbucks NFTs into their daily routines remains to be seen. While Starbucks has promised future rewards and incentives to lure a wider audience, the program seems to primarily drive adoption among the crypto community rather than the other way around.