In New York City, a store with a Solana motif is going to start operations. The new business, Solana Spaces, is being opened in Hudson Yards and is being sponsored by the Solana Foundation, which created the blockchain network of the same name.
Celebrities like Tom Brady, Steve Aoki, Snoop Dogg, and Elon Musk have been participating in the emergence of crypto companies and Web3 brands in popular culture.
Bored Ape Yacht Club, an Ethereum NFT collection brand, has even expanded into “IRL” products and enterprises, including a Los Angeles restaurant with a Bored Ape motif. It looks that Solana, which recently revealed intentions to develop and market its own Android smartphone, also sees the advantages of opening brick-and-mortar locations.
“Inside [the store], you’ll learn how Solana works, what Web3 is. We’ll set you up with a wallet and your first NFTs, and guide you through your first on-chain transactions,” it was revealed on Twitter.
The location will offer customers NFT and Phantom wallet tutorials in addition to an interactive art installation and plenty of Solana-branded merchandise for sale, including a limited edition of Blanksoles sneakers.
This past weekend, Solana Spaces invited 30 guests to preview the business before it officially opened to the public.
The business isn’t even officially open yet, but it’s already generating a lot of attention online thanks to Twitter posts from onlookers who have noticed it. Even Scott Lewis, the founder of Genie and Uniswap’s VP of Product, saw it.
In the past year, the Solana blockchain has gained popularity as a cheaper alternative to the more expensive Ethereum blockchain for trading NFTs and using decentralized applications. Solana’s native cryptocurrency, SOL, is currently the ninth largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
The network still trails Ethereum by a wide margin in all important metrics, but unconventionally conventional methods of spreading the word, like opening a physical store, could be able to narrow the gap even further.