New York City will soon see the opening of a Solana store. The new store, called Solana Spaces is located in Hudson Yards. It is being opened in collaboration with Solana Foundation, which is responsible for the eponymous Blockchain network.
The mainstream has been slowly embracing crypto companies and brands, with celebrity stars like Tom Brady, Steve Aoki and Snoop Dogg joining the fray.
The Ethereum FFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club has even expanded into “IRL”, products and businesses, such as a Bored Ape restaurant in Los Angeles. Solana recently announced its plans to launch an Android smartphone. However, it seems that brick-and-mortar is also appealing to them.
“Inside the store, you’ll learn about Solana and what Web3 is. We will set you up with your first NFTs and guide you through your first-ever on-chain transactions,” Solana Spaces Twitter account tweeted this month. It stated that the space was designed to serve as a “cultural centre” and an “embassy” for Solana.
The space will offer consumers a variety of Solana-branded merchandise, including limited edition Blanksoles sneakers and NFT.
Solana Spaces was open for 30 previews this weekend before its grand opening.
Although the store has not yet opened, it is already getting a lot of buzz online. Passersby are taking notice and sharing photos via Twitter. Scott Lewis, founder of Genie and vice president of product at Uniswap, was even drawn to it.
Solana’s native cryptocurrency SOL, which is currently the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market capital, has become a popular choice to the more expensive Ethereum blockchain to trade NFTs (unique blockchain tokens that identify ownership and allow for decentralized apps) within the past year.
Although the network is still way behind Ethereum in all meaningful metrics, unconventional methods of spreading the word like physical stores might help to close the gap.