Starbucks will soon offer loyal customers something more than just coffee—non-fungible tokens.
Key Details
- Starbucks announced that it will soon launch “Starbucks Odyssey” within its loyalty program.
- Starbucks Odyssey will give members and employees the ability to buy and earn non-fungible tokens (NFT) without using cryptocurrency, according to Axios.
- The program will be an extension of Starbucks Rewards where members can complete “journeys” and other games to “to deepen their knowledge of coffee and Starbucks.”
- When members complete the tasks they will be rewarded with NFTs, which Starbucks is referring to as digital collectible stamps. The stamps will also be available to purchase through the app.
- Each digital collectible stamp will include a point value based on its rarity and Starbucks said the stamps can be bought or sold among members within the marketplace with ownership secured on a blockchain, says Axios.
- The program isn’t set to launch until later this year, but members can sign up for a waitlist.
Why it’s news
Starbucks isn’t the only company testing out the NFT waters.
Last year, McDonald’s offered its first NFT for the famous McRib’s 40th anniversary and Applebee’s introduced a series of NFTs with unlimited steak meals.
Restaurants aren’t the only ones endorsing NFT’s many celebrities have also joined in on the hype around the cryptocurrency.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has become a NFT endorser and award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins launched his first digital art series featuring different characters he has played on screen.
Backing up a bit
NFTs first became popular in the last few years. Each NFT is unique and can represent any digital asset on a blockchain making it scarce, provable, and valuable. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is a fungible token, meaning they are all the same. You trade a Bitcoin for another Bitcoin and you have the exact same thing. Each NFT is different, and the technology that makes an item distinct from any other item is also helping to protect valuables such as art, wine, and jewelry against forgery.
