Starbucks unveils its Odyssey platform on Polygon, the Ballon d’Or will also be an NFT and the Norwegian Central Bank launches its CBDC
Cryptocurrency history was written this week thanks to Ethereum’s much-anticipated update, The Merge, which successfully took place on Thursday the 15th of September 2022. It was certainly the news of the week (if not the year) but the world of crypto is always in turmoil and has so much more to offer! Starbucks unveiled its Odyssey NFT platform that will be developed on the Polygon blockchain. The most important award in football, the Ballon d’Or, will also be released as an NFT, and the Norwegian Central Bank has chosen Ethereum for the development of its digital currency.
Starbucks enters the Web3 with its Odyssey platform
Impossible to start Monday morning without a hot cup of coffee! This week’s Young Monday is no exception thanks to the new collaboration between Polygon and Starbucks. The coffee franchise officially unveiled the Starbucks Odyssey initiative on Tuesday the 13th of September 2022, a Web3 platform built on the Polygon network. Starbucks Odyssey will work in a similar manner to the loyalty programme called Starbucks Rewards, which has already been running for some time and grants customers rewards in exchange for the ‘stars’ they earn from their purchases.
Through the Odyssey platform, Starbucks wants to take the relationship between the brand and their customers to the next level by allowing users to obtain a wider range of rewards and creating a real community. Thanks to Odyssey, Starbucks customers (only in the US for the time being) will be able to obtain and purchase digital collectibles and unlock exclusive experiences, all of them coffee-themed. “Leveraging Web 3.0 technology will allow our members to access experiences and ownership that was not possible before. Starbucks Odyssey will transcend the foundational benefits that our Starbucks Rewards members have come to love, and unlock digital, physical and experiential benefits that are uniquely Starbucks.” explained Brady Brewer, CMO of Starbucks.
To develop the project, Starbucks brought in Adam Brotman as a special consultant. He is the mastermind behind the Mobile Order & Pay system and the Starbucks app. Brotman recently founded Forum3, a Web3 startup that aims to redefine the relationship between consumers and brands through NFTs and cryptocurrency technologies.
The 2022 Ballon d’Or will also be an NFT
The world of football and NFTs are very much in sync lately. Following last week’s news about World Cup NFTs coming to Algorand, it was revealed that the winners of the 2022 Ballon d’Or will also receive an NFT version of their trophy. The ceremony will take place on the 17th of October 2022 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. For the second year running, the Socios platform on Chiliz was selected as the official Web3 partner. The winner of the 2022 Ballon d’Or will not only be engraved on the famous golden trophy but will also for the first time be registered on the blockchain in the metadata of a smart contract. France Football, the French awarding magazine, has not yet specified which blockchain the NFT will be created on.
In addition to the men’s and women’s Ballon d’Or NFTs, which award the best player and the best female player on the planet, three other prizes will also be handed out. The Kopa Trophy (best young talent), the Yachine Trophy (best goalkeeper) and the Müller Trophy (best striker). The highest-ranked winner for the Ballon d’Or 2022 seems to be French striker Karim Benzema, who is already familiar with the world of NFTs, having previously launched his own NFT collection called KB Metaclub.
The Central Bank of Norway chose Ethereum for its CBDC
Last week saw a successful completion of Ethereum’s update, The Merge! However, the news concerning Ethereum does not end there! The Norwegian Central Bank has reached an important turning point with regard to the development of its CBDC, i.e. its digital currency. What is a CBDC? Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are digital currencies issued by a central bank. Just like cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are digital currencies, but they are issued by a government and are therefore centralised. The Norwegian CBDC will be an ERC-20 token, around which various financial services will be built. The Norwegian Central Bank’s project is supported by Nahmii, a scalability solution for Ethereum.
