Cryptocurrencies gain more popularity with each passing bull season, yet some hyped areas do not last long. While the previous bull season had everyone talking about the excitement in the NFT and metaverse spaces, today we witness major companies halting their work in this area. Starbucks announced the expected decision today.
Starbucks NFT Journey Comes to an End
Starbucks Odyssey is closing this month, ending its Polygon (MATIC) based NFT reward program. At the end of 2021, the benefits that NFTs would bring were on everyone’s lips. Major companies launched their own NFT collections to turn this hype into advertising. However, now some are stepping back as the enthusiasm in the NFT space has weakened.
Today’s announcement was about the closure of the Starbucks Odyssey beta platform. Additionally, the project’s Discord server will also be shutting down soon. The company stated in its announcement;
“The Starbucks Odyssey Beta must come to an end as we continue to develop the program and prepare for the next step. Although the Starbucks Odyssey Beta program is ending, we are excited to see what comes next and are grateful for your continuous participation and feedback. We are thankful for the opportunity to test these different ways of enhancing community and loyalty at Starbucks and are eager to bring these learnings to a broader audience.”
Is the NFT Story Over?
Starbucks has ended its program for now, and it was expected that NFTs would play an active role in such loyalty reward programs. The initiative, started with great hopes, now seems like a struggle to turn the hype into advertising during the boom period.
On the other hand, technological progress in this field continues with innovations like functional NFTs. Even though giant corporations are moving away from the NFT and metaverse spaces, pioneering crypto ventures have not yet closed shop. In the long run, these types of ventures could be remembered as early trials or even successes achieved after a tough struggle.
