The 2023 Guide to Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP)

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have been one of the blockchain technologies’ most significant recent breakthroughs, and applications are only just beginning to be discovered. The proof of attendance protocol (POAP) is one of these new, innovative use cases that NFTs are being deployed toward.

Misunderstood and often misconstrued, NFTs are subject to untold criticism by the corporate media. Of course, not all of the criticism is misdirected, and some of the early applications of NFTs certainly did not show the technology in its best light.

Though, when looking beyond pixel art and “monkey jpegs,” one finds technology that threatens the establishment like little else. “Verifiable digital ownership”—these three words make trillion-dollar firms quake, and it’s no surprise that corporate media has taken such a stand.

POAP is one of many pragmatic use cases that have emerged from NFTs, so let’s dive in and find out what the proof of attendance protocol is and how it all works.

What is Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP)?

Non-fungible tokens rose to prominence with the ERC-721 token standard, which defines a token on the Ethereum blockchain that is verifiably unique. This is in contrast with the ERC-20 standard, which sets out fungible tokens, which often serve as utility or governance tokens for various protocols.

Fungibility is an important characteristic of a currency. Irrespective of whether you have notes or coins, and whether they were printed or minted, 1 USD should always equal 1 USD. The same goes for cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, and various others, with the exception of blacklisted coins—the same concept as tracked serial numbers for fiat.

On the other hand, you don’t want things like property title deeds to be fungible. Each should be unique and declare the bearer as the owner of the referred property. While forgery is possible, it’s difficult, and these documents are authenticated by notaries or various authorities.

The same concept applies to NFTs, except that they are authenticated by the blockchain itself. So, while an NFT can give you verifiable ownership of the aforementioned monkey jpeg, it can also be used for plenty more. One such use is the proof of attendance protocol, which is a specific, often commemorative or badge-style NFT.

How Does Proof of Attendance Protocol Work?

Proof of attendance protocol was introduced at ETHDenver 2019, and it was so successful that the team behind the development could form a company and get off the ground as POAP Inc.

There are other issuers of NFTs that serve as proof of attendance, but the company and technology have become so intertwined that they are used in a generic fashion similar to Kleenex.

Proof of attendance protocol tokens are minted to a distributed public ledger, or blockchain, which means that they are unique and verifiable. They are made to preserve the things that are important to individuals, representing a non-fungible, unforgettable, irreplaceable part of the user’s memory.

While cherished memories are priceless, POAPs are actually tradeable and transferable like any other blockchain-based token. They’re also immutable, though, so short of attacking the blockchain that they exist on, it’s impossible to remove a POAP from your ownership (or wallet).

POAPs can lead to verifiable ownership of limited edition assets, much like NFTs, but they can also collect and store life moments without compromising privacy. Certain major social media platforms, such as Meta (neé Facebook), have a questionable reputation where privacy is concerned but do catalog moments well. POAPs disrupt this model entirely while retaining privacy.

For a token to be an official, authentic POAP, it needs to be created or minted via the official POAP smart contract. The token will contain the metadata related to the time and date of the event or memory being commemorated and also have an associated image. For this reason, it’s often compared to a digital badge.

How to Set up Proof of Attendance Protocol For an Event

As mentioned, the official POAP smart contract is the place to start if you want to create POAPs for an event of yours. It’s actually deceptively easy to get set up and create proof of attendance protocol tokens.

According to POAP Inc., creating a POAP token is as easy as filling out a form. That’s not an exaggeration, because the process literally involves filling out a form.

In this form, you can fill in details about what sort of event, major or minor, you may be commemorating. Fields regarding the event itself include the name or nature of the event and a description for the POAP. The description is meant to detail what the POAP is about and how it will be distributed.

You can also optionally add the city and country where the event was held. After adding your email address and any website that attendees should visit, you can upload an image for the POAP in PNG or GIF format. The recommended measurement is 500 by 500 pixels, with a size of less than 200 KB, although 4 MB is the hard cap.

Once you’re finished, your POAP drop is reviewed by the POAP Curation Body. If and when it receives a positive review, you will receive an email along with the unique mint links you can use for distribution. Each mint link is valid for the minting of one POAP.

You can give event attendees POAPs using these mint links, or you can use the POAP Kiosk. This makes handing out POAPs even easier than direct links since collectors can just scan a QR code with their phone to claim their POAP.

It’s also possible to distribute POAPS using IYK devices and embedded NFC chips, POAP Delivery, Discord Guild bots, and POAP Checkout. For more on each of these methods, check out the POAP Inc. blog.

It’s important not to share your public QR dispenser link URL since this can lead to your POAPs being drained. It’s also not advisable to post mint links in public forums since anyone can claim them.

How to Collect Proof of Attendance Protocol

Most of the work when it comes to POAPs has to be done by the event coordinator. Looking at it like a goodie bag, it’s the event team that has to create the goodie bag, decorate it, fill it with nice stuff, and ensure people can pick it up in a convenient way.

In much the same way, proof of attendance protocol tokens are pretty easy to collect, although exactly how to do so depends very much on the distribution method chosen by the event team.

Most event teams will try to make things as easy as possible for you to collect your POAP. For that reason, the POAP Kiosk is extremely popular since all you need to do to collect it is scan a QR code with a device connected to the internet.

Other distribution methods, such as airdrops, POAP Delivery, and Discord guilds, don’t need you to do much except already have a Web3 wallet set up. Most of them are free, too, although POAP Checkout does require you to have a small amount of funds in your wallet to pay a small fee.

How to Trade Proof of Attendance Protocols

Proof of attendance protocol tokens are a subset of NFTs and fall under the ERC-721 standard as far as POAP Inc. POAPs are concerned. It’s possible to create tokens that fulfill the characteristics of POAPs on other blockchains, but the official standard is onEthereum via Gnosis Chain.

Since POAPs are ERC-721 NFTs, they can be traded in exactly the same way as NFTs. For example, major NFT marketplaces, especially ones with fewer restrictions, will allow the listing of POAPs, although some marketplaces may or may not allow them at the marketplace team’s discretion.

Whether you actually should buy or sell POAPs is another matter entirely. On the one hand, they do lose some authenticity since a buyer would not necessarily have had the experience of the event that the POAP represents. On the other hand, there are many real-world analogs to secondary market trading of POAPs, such as original tickets to famous concerts or sporting events.

Furthermore, several POAP holders have received airdrops of other tokens, thereby empowering the POAP with far more than mere sentimental value. Therefore, the possibility of future gains can make POAPs even more viable for trading on NFT marketplaces.

Companies That Use Proof of Attendance Protocol

Just as NFTs, in general, have been adopted by plenty of household names despite all of the criticism, several big brands have leveraged the connectivity of POAPs over the last couple of years.

Adidas was one of the first on the POAP bandwagon with the launch of its CONFIRMED app in November 2021. Through this app, Adidas was able to reward its most loyal supporters and customers with drops and exclusive content.

Estée Lauder was also in on the POAP action a few months later, at the Metaverse Fashion Week in March 2022. The beauty brand showcased a unique wearable NFT called Advanced Night Repair, which distributed 10,000 at the event. Users who claimed them could grab proof of attendance badges and give their event avatars a little bit more of a glow.

In May, Lottie London organized the first metaverse prom on Decentraland. The first 2000 attendees were directed to the Lottie London Walmart shopping site through a proof of attendance protocol.

That’s not mentioning the crypto-native companies and events that have been using proof of attendance protocol for years. Decentraland has given out POAPs on several occasions, Sushi aidropped POAPs to AMA attendees and governance proposal voters, and various Ethereum conferences have issued POAPs through the last few years as well.

Proof of Attendance Protocol in the Future

Just as the proof of attendance protocol is an innovative use of NFT technology, which we’re only at the tip of the iceberg of exploring, POAPs could also still be in their infancy. They may be used for attendance now, but further use cases are just a bright idea away.

Various other utilities for POAPs have already been touted. They could, for example, be a verifiable form of blockchain resume for people to prove their education and expertise. They can acknowledge contributions and reward community members. In all probability, the limits to their use are a question of imagination.

Proof of attendance protocol ties immutable public ledgers, decentralized networks, and the physical world together, combining real-world actions with decentralized identities. In the Web3 space, ownership is king, and POAPs allow you to truly own your experiences in an online form.

Key Takeaways

Proof of attendance protocol is an innovative implementation of non-fungible token technology that can confirm in a verifiable manner that you attended or participated in a real or virtual event. It is transferable and can be sold, just like any NFT, but transactions can be tracked via the blockchain, so even if you sell your POAP, you can prove that you were once the original owner.

POAPs are minted using the official POAP smart contract handled by POAP Inc. and exist on Gnosis Chain, although they can be shifted to mainnet Ethereum with the payment of a fee. Event teams can create POAPs easily and can choose a variety of means for distribution. As an event attendee, collecting POAPs is even easier—and often free.

Proof of attendance protocol is only a few years old as a technology but has already seen adoption from various companies, including many household names. It’s an exciting evolution in Web3, and its story is far from finished.