Starbucks ends its Odyssey NFT program

Update: Starbucks announced Friday that it’s discontinuing its NFT program, which was in beta, to “prepare for what comes next as we continue to evolve the program,” according to an FAQ page.

We spoke with Steve Kaczynski, the program’s lead, on the Chain Reaction podcast last month. On Friday, he tweeted that his future at the company was uncertain:

Below is our original interview with Kaczynski from February 22:

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, co-author of the book “The Everything Token” and community lead for Starbucks Odyssey.

“Brand anchors” to gated areas like reward programs are something that companies will expand upon in 2024, he said. “I think this year we’re going to see a lot of community-based brand building,” he shared on TechCrunch’s Chain Reaction podcast.

Starbucks launched Starbucks Odyssey in 2022 as its initial foray into the web3 world. The experience combined the company’s Starbucks Reward loyalty program with NFTs to enhance customer experiences, TechCrunch previously reported.

“We’re able to help people find their tribe,” Kaczynski said. “I’ve 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.”

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