On Thursday (July 28), Solana Spaces, which was established with the help of Solana Foundation, announced “the opening of the world’s first permanent physical retail, educational, and community space dedicated to Web3” in New York City.
According to a press release by Solana Spaces, which is based in San Francisco, aims to set up “a set of retail venues that provide an immersive educational experience for people interested in the Solana blockchain and web3.” Solana Foundation “funded and helped incubate” the Solana Spaces NYC. The founding team is “a group of retail designers and engineers that also founded b8ta, the innovative and award-winning electronics retailer.”
The Solana Spaces website says that their stores are where you can learn about Solana (and set up your Phantom wallet), learn about “DeFi, NFTs, games and a variety of Solana projects to earn immediate rewards” (Orca can “teach you to trade & learn about STEPN, a play-to-earn game built on Solana”), immerse yourself in their Solana blockchain visualizer and NFT gallery, learn about various other projects in the Solana ecosystem, and buy the latest Solana gear.
Vibhu Norby, CEO of Solana Spaces, had this to say:
“Solana has the most active and fastest growing ecosystem of developers in Web3 today, showcased in part by its large number of daily active users. Even with this in mind, we won’t rest until everyone is onboarded into the space. We’ve collaborated with some of Solana’s top projects and creators to design an introduction to crypto-tech that is open and accessible. It’s an experiment that we think a lot of people will love.“
And Brandon Millman, Phantom CEO and Co-Founder, stated:
“Solana Spaces is creating a truly immersive experience that will help people learn about Web3 in a fun and interactive way. Education and discovery is a completely different experience in-person. We are thrilled to be the featured wallet partner for Solana Spaces and look forward to welcoming so many more people into the crypto ecosystem.“
The press release also mentioned that Solana Spaces “plans to feature a roster of new products and collaborations with brands that will frequently be updated.” For example, during the opening week, this location will “exhibit a limited-edition physical and digital shoe designed in collaboration with Blanksoles, as well as NETGEAR’s Meural Digital Canvas will allow users to connect their Phantom Wallet to project their own Solana NFTs onto the display.”
It went on to say that “all store merchandise is available for purchase via credit card,” but customers who decide to use Solana Pay, will “receive steep discounts and special merchandise like branded bags.”
Solana Spaces NYC is located within the “Hudson Yards” shopping mall in New York City, and it is open “from Monday to Saturday at 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m-7 p.m.”
