How PussyDAO uses Solana NFTs to sell physical underwear

Most people today probably connect first NFTpp with only digital items such as profile pictures, artwork and collectibles. But blockchain tokens can also be tied to physical art, real estate, and other tangible assets.

In a provocative example of how NFTs could shake up retail and apparel, PussyDAO aims to use Solana NFTs as redemption coupons to buy things like underwear and streetwear.

Founder and CEO Izzy Howell, formerly head of growth at Solana derivatives protocol Cypher, told Decrypt at this week’s Chainlink SmartCon conference that the idea came to her while chatting with her ex DeFi Associates.

“I was up really late with my team, and all the guys on my team were just saying liquidity is all that matters. ‘That’s the most important thing: liquidity, liquidity, liquidity,'” she recalled. “And the next thought in my head was that I wanted to make a pair of briefs that said ‘very fluid’ in the crotch.”

Howell – formerly named a rising star in crypto of Decrypt— shared her idea with others, saying she “got a lot of support from the crypto industry” (including funding), so she left Cypher to focus on the new venture. PussyDAO will start by offering NFTs that can be redeemed at any time for physical underwear, but she has bigger ambitions for the brand over time.

“We’re using Web3 technology to scale the next generation of apparel, CPG [consumer packaged goods] products, software releases and experiences,” Howell said Decrypt in a follow-up chat via Telegram. “Our brand is punk rock meets hyperfemininity: we’re bold, girly and powerful – and a much-needed breath of fresh air in this bro-centric space.”

Howell’s plan is to expand the PussyDAO brand into “all things super hype-y,” including the aforementioned products and experiences.

The idea of ​​redeeming a blockchain token for physical clothing is not new and has been explored in various ways. Unisocks, for example, is a project that sells tokens that can be redeemed for Uniswap-themed socksand the price of each token rises with each sale on a bond curve – it started at $12, but now buying a token costs $22,807.

Adidas explored the model of NFTs redeemable for exclusive apparel with his Into the Metaverse dropped last December in partnership with Bored Ape Yacht Club, NFT influencer gmoney and the Punks Comics project. And WAX blockchains vIRL NFT concept is built around tokens that can be redeemed for physical goods.

Howell said redemption NFTs make sense for streetwear and other goods because it’s easier to resell digital tokens than to be forced to physically ship things to buyers. Trading tokens can also be cheaper, easier and have less environmental impact than shipping parcels.

“People buy [streetwear] in an instant, and then it’s the buyer’s responsibility to take that hat and put it up on eBay themselves, and they have to take care of the shipping and all that,” she explained. “But if I just own the NFT that gives me the right to the physical item, it’s much more frictionless for me as someone selling it on a secondary market.”

Howell is launching on Solana because she was “raised by the Solana ecosystem,” but she envisions a multi-chain future and plans to debut products on other blockchain platforms.

As PussyDAO charts its course towards its first product launch, Howell describes a brand that is uniquely Web3. “This is the first investor-backed social commentary,” she said Decrypt. “Not only are we a company – we are also a living, breathing art movement. We are dropping products designed to stimulate meaningful conversations around gender, identity and the economic landscape.”