Starbucks has announced plans to end its NFT rewards program, the Starbucks Odyssey Beta program. The coffee brand embraced NFTs during the last bear market in 2022.
The program enabled Starbucks customers to earn rewards in the form of digital collectibles. The multinational company will pull back the program by March 31, according to its announcement.
Starbucks to Discontinue NFT Rewards Program by March 31st
The Starbucks Odyssey was a welcomed development at its launch. It enabled users to take part in coffee-themed challenges, such as games. Users received digital stamps as a reward for their participation. These stamps allowed them access to several benefits and exclusive experiences.
The journey continues or closes…
Starbucks abruptly cancels Odyssey and their holders assets “stamps” tank.
Communication fail pic.twitter.com/LzomE33c7i
— Rippe🎯 (@MichaelRippe) March 15, 2024
Starbucks also plans to shut down the Odyssey marketplace. That’s the platform where users trade their digital stamps. The company also plans to shut down its community Discord server.
It said, “The Odyssey marketplace will transition to the Nifty marketplace. You can continue to buy, sell, and transfer Odyssey stamps on the Nifty marketplace.” There’s currently no known reason for Starbucks’ decision to end its NFT program. Also, the coffee company has not revealed if it will embark on another Web3 initiative.
“While the Starbucks Odyssey Beta program is ending, we are excited for you to see what comes next and are grateful for your consistent engagement and feedback,” the company said.
Starbucks NFTs were a game changer for us.
We're taking a hit on the chin here with them dipping.
Everyone talks about onboarding more people to NFTs. This is one way it could have happened. The space is just too focused on pretending to be shitcoins pic.twitter.com/2pWHTq7onw
— HashBastards (@HashBastardsNFT) March 16, 2024
Users who completed at least Level One in the program will receive final holder benefits. The company hasn’t shared details on the benefits. But participants will receive an email about it by the end of the month.
How Successful Was This Program?
The program had about 58,000 active participants. Many used NFTs acquired from secondary markets to climb to the top tier of the five-tiered system.
Users have until March 25th to complete any unfinished journeys. Also, they can still trade stamps on Nifty Gateway. However, they have to sign in with their email address associated with Starbucks Rewards. Additionally, users can trade their NFTs on any Polygon marketplace. And withdraw their NFTs to external wallets.
I’m unsurprised Starbucks shelved Odessey.
However, I am saddened.
This program was a beacon of light other web2 brands looked towards as guidance on how they should use NFTs.
Now, there’s only Nike left as a notable NFT case study.
And even they are going through some… pic.twitter.com/39AyyFVVZF
— Leon Abboud (@leonabboud_) March 19, 2024
Starbucks isn’t the only giant cutting back on its Web3 initiatives. Earlier this year, gaming retailer, GameStop, closed down its marketplace. The company had made several cutbacks on its crypto services before that. Meta also pulled the plug on its NFT services last year. Meta withdrew NFT features from both Instagram and Facebook months after initiating them.
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