Why a blockchain network opened a Web3 store in New York

Blockchain technology isn't typically associated with a physical experience, but an upstart network is hoping to change that. Solana Spaces, a newly created retail venue group, opened its first physical storefront today, located in The Shops complex at Hudson Yards in New York. The group is funded and incubated by the Solana Foundation, a non-profit that maintains the Solana blockchain. The shop intends to create a consumer experience around Web3, with the main focus on what the Solana ecosystem has to offer. Guests will be able to receive educational tutorials on Web3 applications and hardware, plus basic introductions to programming. A full retail store with merchandise will also be available, as will opportunities around NFTs, including drops and a monthly updated art gallery. Brands in and outside the crypto space have collaborated for various features in the shop. The storefront launched with apparel designed by fashion streetwear brand Land of the Righteous and Solana-themed emergency preparedness bags created by Preppi. Other brands will cycle through over time. At the heart of Solana Spaces is a series of interactive displays showcasing applications that live in the Solana world. Educating consumers on these applications in a face-to-face way is one of the main reasons for the store’s physical presence, said Vibhu Norby, CEO of Solana Spaces. Decentralized crypto exchange Orca, for example, will take guests through a step-by-step experience into many of the functions on its platform. Crypto wallet Phantom will help guests create their own crypto addresses. After completing these introductions, each guest will receive a special badge, and if they collect enough badges, the store will give them money in the form of USDC, a stablecoin cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. A surging ecosystem Like Ethereum, Solana is a blockchain that uses smart contracts to build various decentralized apps. It also has a native cryptocurrency, SOL, which is currently selling at $39.53, with a market cap of nearly $13 billion, per CoinMarketCap. Although Solana is less widely used than Ethereum, the network has experienced significant growth over the past year. As of June, it served over 32 million daily active wallets, per The Block—a 40% year-over-year surge that is in part due to the blockchain’s emergence as a foundation for NFTs. Support for the functionality of NFTs built on Solana is increasingly being adopted by platforms in the space, including OpenSea since April, as well as Instagram, which has expressed plans to incorporate Solana-backed tokens into the NFT-profile picture feature it is currently testing. NFTs are another attraction at Solana Space’s store. A multi-screen art gallery will showcase different NFT collections each month, beginning with Degenerate Ape Academy, which was one of the earliest NFT projects on Solana. The collection will also sell branded merchandise that is typically reserved for holders. Solana Spaces plans to open more stores in the U.S. in the coming months, Norby said. Norby previously founded b8ta, a company that provided retailers with brick and mortar resources. While b8ta shuttered in February, Norby later brought his team onto Solana Spaces. In fact, the newly opened shop exists at the same storefront in Hudson Yards where b8ta used to have a location. Solana Spaces is currently signed to a two-year lease. When asked why build a physical store at a time when crypto is crashing, Norby pointed to a wall in the store displaying real-time visualization of activity on the Solana blockchain. The chart was a frenzy of new transactions, updated wallet data and NFT mints. “Price is incredibly independent of the usage of the chain,” he said.

Why a blockchain network opened a Web3 store in New York

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