We saw many mega corporations announcing their forays in the world of crypto with Disney and Coca-Cola announcing their new projects and Nike releasing new shoes with NFTs attached to them. Despite the negative aura surrounding the market of non-fungible tokens, many companies see immense potential in this concept. The latest multinational corporation that joined the ranks of crypto adopters is Starbucks.
Rolling out the Odyssey program
The coffee chain that provides experience rather than good coffee is a massive brand represented by shops in over 150 countries. The franchise has millions of devoted customers across the globe and is willing to branch out in different domains if it allows them to retain clients. Their recent announcement is about their Odyssey program in which users can earn “Stars” that can be exchanged for drinks in more than 12600 outlets scattered across all inhabited continents.
As is usual for mega-corporations that want to be customer-friendly, the company wants to simplify the use of NFTs by allowing people to purchase them with standard debit cards and relieving them from things like gas fees. The NFT platform will be deployed on the Polygon network, the layer-2 platform of the Ethereum network.
The CMO of Starbucks Brady Brewer stated that the company will provide multiple ways to earn rewards and attach other functionality and perks to NFT holders. For example, people will be able to attend special events and receive gifts from the corporation. Mr. Brewer also added that the customer experience will be diverse and more accessible with the rollout of this new program.
The timing is great for the crypto community
The news story about this mega-corporation foraying in the web3 sector comes at the right time. The crypto community sees a notable influx of outsiders interested in the upcoming Ethereum merge that will dramatically reduce the environmental impact of ETH which is something that supporters are loudly talking about on all platforms.
The merger is surrounded by speculations with many people forecasting quite negative scenarios, but the arrival of companies like Starbucks and Coco-Cola surely improves the public image and may increase the chances of Ethereum skyrocketing right after the merger.