What Are POAPs and Why Are They Important?

The NFT community is full of so many supporters and specialized events, wouldn’t it be cool if there was a way to prove and track your attendance to all these unique experiences, such as clubhouse rooms, discord servers, or attending an event like NFT.NYC? Now there is, thanks to the creation of POAPs.

We’ve all saved the ticket stub to a memorable concert, movie, or sporting event. Why not do the same in the metaverse?

POAPs, aka Proof of Attendance Protocol, are ERC-721 tokens that are used to give attendees a way to prove their record of life experiences. Think of this as the lanyard you take home from a conference, but recorded on the blockchain. 

POAP collectors get this digital badge that is supported by a cryptographic record in the form of an NFT, each with a unique design giving them a collectability aspect and allowing event holders to supply more value.

Originally, POAP was created in 2019 for the ETHDenver convention to reward attendees for showing up and supporting the event. Moreover, you can collect POAPs at both in-person and virtual events. It’s important to note that not every NFT given away at an event is a POAP.

In order to qualify as a POAP, an NFT needs to come from the POAPs official smart contract. Additionally, the POAP needs to have a custom image and include the metadata for a particular time and event. 

While these digital badges were originally built on the Ethereum mainnet, they moved to Ethereum sidechain xDai in October 2021. xDai allows users to claim the tokens by paying little to no gas fees. Furthermore, xDai also ensures a quicker transaction.

According to the creators of POAP, these types of NFTs have several use cases, such as community polls and allow Decentralized Automated Organization (DAO) to vote on proposals, where holders who own more POAPs have stronger voting power. 

POAP allows event organizers and brands to better engage with their consumers by providing a personalized experience. POAPs not only offer unique designs but allow for a variety of specialized services such as private chat rooms, airdrops, giveaways, and more. 

Users can even generate their own POAP NFT to prove the places they've been to and of course, earn bragging rights. What’s great about POAP NFTs is the fact that they are free to create and free to collect.

Creators of the POAP badge did not intend for these NFTs to be traded or sold, rather they are a way to prove your dedication to brands and provide a way to prove the journey that you have been on throughout life. 

If you have ever saved one of your ticket stubs from an event or perhaps your favorite vacation, then you understand the concept of POAPs.

Except, POAPs allow you to prove your attendance thanks to blockchain technology and store all your badges in one secure location.

There are multiple ways you can use a POAP.  As an event organizer or as a collector. As an event organizer, you can distribute POAPs at your events to offer your community value and encourage engagement. As a collector, your POAPs are a record of your life's greatest moments and digitized into a collectible and trackable token.

Organizers of events can create their own event on the POAP platform as well as customize designs and products they plan to offer attendees and their community. Collectors should always be on the lookout for special QR codes in POAP sponsored events in order to collect badges and participate in different activities and giveaways.

If you are attending a POAP sponsored event or experience, holders will provide attendees with a QR code or a link that you can scan, which will allow you to claim the POAP using your Ethereum wallet address, or you can enter your email address instead and claim your POAP NFT at a later time.

Keep in mind that POAPs aren’t limited to just physical events and locations, but may also be found elsewhere such as at virtual events, or perhaps, hidden within content. If you are attending a known POAP event, be aware of any QR codes to claim your attendance token.
If you want to view upcoming POAP sponsored events, you can view publicly-listed POAPs on the POAPs event page.

There are various methods for viewing your POAP collection. On your desktop, you can go to POAP Scan and enter your Ethereum address or connect your wallet. If you are on mobile, you can use the POAP App on iOS, Android, or use the MetaMask mobile app. To view all your POAPs on the MetaMask app, you can use this guide created by POAP.

If you want to move your POAP off the xDai sidechain, you can easily move them to the Ethereum mainnet by visiting POAP Scan, and then select the POAP you want to transfer, click it, and then scroll down to the Migrate button to initiate the transfer.

Once you hit Migrate, you will be asked to confirm the transaction. Remember, you will have to pay associated gas fees to transfer your POAP to the mainnet.

If you’re wondering why someone would want to transfer their POAP to the Ethereum mainnet, they may benefit from selling their POAP on a marketplace such as OpenSea. If you want to sell your POAP on the xDai sidechain, you can list it on Eporio.

Remember, POAPs are not generally sold. This isn’t to say that they can’t be sold though.

Ultimately, a POAP NFT is a digital badge used to record specific events and experiences in a person’s life and prove attendance.

Creators of POAPs can provide additional value to their consumers by offering POAPs and special perks that may come with collecting them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more industries take advantage of this digitized proof of attendance, especially within the metaverse.

In fact, we asked the POAP Team what about POAPs excites them the most currently, and going forward? Here's what they said:

The idea behind ONE37pm’s 25 Days of POAP was originally formed out of our love for the Holiday Spirit, and as a way to shed light on the NFT community.

Several unique brands and creators will come together to design special POAP NFTs that ONE37pm will release to the public, for 25 days in December.

Each day, a new POAP will be released. Keep in mind that depending on the day, there will be varying quantities of POAPs available to collect, so you will need to keep an eye out and pay close attention.

Of course, these POAPs will be available to the community free of charge and distributed by the ONE37pm team using several platforms.

25 Days of POAP will be a fun and interactive way for members of the NFT community, and even people from outside the community, to collect NFTs and not have to worry about going through the process of buying cryptocurrency, and then having to pay high gas fees to claim.

All that you need in order to collect POAPs is your email address. If you would like to collect your very own POAP NFT, you may claim a POAP in the ONE37pm Discord. We’ll see you there! 😊