Crypto project Solana opens a store in NYC. Take a look inside
In the expansive world of Web3, there isn’t much use for anything IRL, right? Error. Just ask the team behind Solana, which is opening a permanent brick-and-mortar store dedicated to all things cryptocurrency.
Located at The shopsa fancier-than-average mall at Hudson Yards in Manhattan, the store opens to the public on Thursday, but I was able to get a tour a day early.
If you are not familiar, Solana stands as a faster alternative to the Ethereum blockchain, while also offering smart contracts that power NFTs and various decentralized applications. In the last year, Solana’s currency SOL rose to be among the top 10 in terms of market value.
As for the store – which may seem like a far-fetched idea – I honestly thought it was a pretty cool place (and let me be clear up front, I don’t own a SOL!)
It feels like any other high-end shop, but it accepts cryptocurrency – with “Solana Pay Accepted Here” randomly placed on the shop window – and has an NFT gallery highlighting the Degenerate Ape Academy collection across the walls.
Upon entering, I immediately noticed an interactive installation that visualized what was happening on the Solana blockchain in real time, including executed transactions and NFTs.
Throughout the store, there are various stations aimed at bringing people on board to the crypto space, including a private booth where people can set up a Phantom wallet (the most popular Solana wallet) and write down their seed phrase (a secret chain of words which acts like a pin) on a small card for safe keeping.
Other stations provided tutorials on platforms such as STEPN, a play-to-earn app, and Magic Eden, an NFT marketplace. There, people can also check out the Solana Saga, Solana’s Web3 mobile phone (yes, you read that right).
Of course, there was branding all over the store, with shirts, hoodies and hats galore, emblazoned with phrases commonly used in the crypto community like the rallying cry “WAGMI,” as well as “dough,” “not financial advice,” and “probably nothing.” It’s every crypto bro’s dream.
While there’s a lot going on inside, the Solana team’s main goal is to bring onlookers and educate anyone new to the crypto space, Vibhu Norby, CEO of Solana Spaces, told me as he showed me around. Ultimately, he said, the store is “an experiment that we think a lot of people will love.”
But it’s not just any kind of experiment: It’s a very expensive one. Rent is no joke in Manhattan – and retail space in Hudson Yards is likely to be very expensive. Only time will tell if this will be a good long-term investment for the Solana Foundation, a nonprofit that works to build the broader Solana ecosystem and paid for the store.
That said, the short-term payoff for Solana feels like a good one. People walking by in the mall during my tour were already trying to get into the store – some of them didn’t even know what Solana was and wanted in just because they thought the NFT monkeys were cool.
All in all, it’s worth checking out if you’re in town.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
