Culture
Solana opens brick-and-mortar web3 ‘embassy,’ whatever that means
The expansive world of crypto is now infiltrating the real world, as Solana sets up shop in New York City’s Hudson Yards.
Throughout the last decade we’ve witnessed major brands pivot towards beefing up their online presence. Now, with more businesses emerging online, the inverse is beginning to take place. Take, for example, Solana, an alternative blockchain network that claims to be the fastest in the world, which has opened a brick-and-mortar location in New York City.
The store, dubbed Solana Spaces, is located in Hudson Yards and operates as a mix between a crypto community center and physical ad for one of the bigger platforms in the blockchain network space right now.
Visitors are able to attend informational events that span the world of crypto, set up wallets in-store to begin investing, and purchase merchandise showcasing popular NFT projects. Most of the amenities understandably link back to the Solana network, as the educational opportunities are limited to play-to-earn games, DeFi networks, and NFT collections, powered by the platform.
Sterile minimalism — There’s something extremely clean about the design of Solana Spaces, at least from what I can gather without actually setting foot in the store. The color palettes are primarily beige and white, with occasional infusions of the kind of blues and purples found on a fintech logo. It captures the mood of being inside a virtual space, with plenty of thin, unoffensive screens that function as activity hubs.
Every purchase can be made through Solana’s own payment network known as Solana Pay. Financial transactions over blockchain technology have become another line of business for these kinds of brands, with the perk of being the lack of transaction fees.
The opening of Solana Spaces mirrors the way NFTs are starting to expand beyond the digital realm, offering real-world interaction or integration to users. It seems that Solana views its role as an educational one, considering its product serves as the backbone for general crypto and web3 activity.
Also it can’t hurt having more people who feel they have a handle on how crypto works and a bigger, more confident market ready to invest in the space.