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Update:<\/strong> Starbucks announced Friday that it\u2019s discontinuing its NFT program<\/a>, to \u201cprepare for what comes next as we continue to evolve the program,\u201d according to an FAQ page.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n We spoke with Steve Kaczynski, the program\u2019s lead, on the Chain Reaction podcast last month. On Friday, he tweeted that his future at the company was uncertain<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n Below is our original interview with Kaczynski from February 22:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The NFT space may be down substantially from all-time highs, but brands and loyalty programs looking to reach fans in new ways can still find value, said Steve Kaczynski<\/a>, co-author of the book \u201cThe Everything Token\u201d and community lead for Starbucks Odyssey.<\/p>\n \u201cBrand anchors\u201d to gated areas like reward programs are something that companies will expand upon in 2024, he said. \u201cI think this year we\u2019re going to see a lot of community-based brand building,\u201d he shared on TechCrunch\u2019s Chain Reaction podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Starbucks launched Starbucks Odyssey<\/a> in 2022 as its initial foray into the web3 world. The experience combined the company\u2019s Starbucks Reward loyalty program with NFTs to enhance customer experiences, TechCrunch previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re able to help people find their tribe,\u201d Kaczynski said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen that people who live in California in the Starbucks Odyssey community are really good friends with people in Chicago and they have met up in real life at times. This never would have happened if not for web3.\u201d<\/p>\n The loyalty program has a five-tiered system with over 58,000 active participants at least on level one, Kaczynski said. \u201cI can promise you those aren\u2019t mostly or all web3 native people \u2026 it\u2019s not just web3 people who are participating.\u201d<\/p>\n Those who hit tier five of the program bought a \u201cdecent amount\u201d off the secondary marketplaces, Kaczynski said. In December, for example, Starbucks announced that it\u2019s sending the top 20 participants to Costa Rica to visit the coffee giant\u2019s farms where beans are produced.<\/p>\n There are other \u201cthird-party utilities\u201d to be developed through NFTs, not just by big companies like Starbucks or Nike but by local businesses that want to spin up loyalty programs or use tickets as an asset they can anchor and incentivize.<\/p>\n Kaczynski brought up this example: Let\u2019s say Hot Pockets, the food brand, put out a promotion where it would give a 20% discount to gamers if they bought the brand\u2019s Fortnite skin and connected it to a crypto wallet. \u201cThe purchaser is happy, the eater is happy and they get a discount and they\u2019re in the ecosystem,\u201d he said. \u201cThis person isn\u2019t just a gamer, they\u2019re an active gamer who\u2019s participating and willing to spend disposable income on third-party things.\u201d<\/p>\n When people think of NFTs, they often think of just expensive monkey pictures on the internet \u2014 and to be fair, that\u2019s one part of it with Bored Ape Yacht Club \u2014 but there\u2019s more value to be held in owning NFTs, Kaczynski says.<\/p>\n \u201cImagine you go into a museum and you see a beautiful painting on the wall, you can take a picture of that painting but it\u2019s not worth any money. The picture on the wall is worth money because the museum owns it, it\u2019s the original and they can prove both of those things,\u201d Kaczynski said. \u201cUp until recently you couldn\u2019t do that with digital items\u201d until NFTs came out.<\/p>\n Brands and companies having the ability to buy and sell and \u201ctruly own your loyalty is a new concept that makes it less one-way,\u201d Kaczynski said. \u201cWhile not all the community members engage in buying and selling \u2026 I think for a lot of people, having that optionality is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was inspired by an episode of TechCrunch\u2019s podcast Chain Reaction. Subscribe<\/a> to Chain Reaction on Apple Podcasts<\/a>, Spotify<\/a> or your favorite pod platform to hear more stories and tips from the entrepreneurs building today\u2019s most innovative companies.<\/em><\/p>\n Connect with us:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n