Web3: Solana has opened a real-world store in New York

Solana Spaces has announced today the opening of its first store, located at 20 Hudson Yards in New York City. The store, a collaboration between the Solana Foundation and several ecosystem partners, will be located at 20 Hudson Yards in New York City.

Solana Spaces NYC is now open: https://t.co/jZcZ99l5Cj

We’re the world’s first retail and educational space dedicated to Web3.

Brought to you in collaboration with @solanafndnand partners @phantom, @stepnofficial, @orca_so, @magiceden, @metaplex, @degenapeacademy and more. pic.twitter.com/VoKnrIMmWP

– Solana Spaces (@solanaspaces) July 28, 2022

Aimed at blockchain beginners, the store claims to be “The world’s first retail store.” [et] educational space dedicated to blockchain“. Visitors will have access to tutorials, programming services and experiments on the Solana blockchain; they will also have the opportunity to receive “unique rewards” by participating in the physical store activities.

The store will feature interactive art installations, an exhibit of Solana’s upcoming projects and a company presentation. The Saga Phone, cryptographic products “lifestyle” such as hoodies and T-shirts, and several NFT collections from the ecosystem. The store is also offering 50 percent off purchases up to $200 if one uses the Solana Pay app, and plans to rotate the experiences offered to visitors.

While the Hudson Yards store is the only one announced at this time, a later Twitter post from the official Solana account alluded to that other projects (such as additional physical sites) were also in the works.

Every month, we’ll be rotating the experiences offered in store, and introducing new limited edition drops and products.

And we’re not done yet. There’s more to this story. Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/sdMQJlWTmp

– Solana Spaces (@solanaspaces) July 28, 2022

Solana Spaces will be the first such store for the crypto space, which until now has generally favored digital over physical products. Other initiatives in the physical realm include a Solana-branded smartphone that the company announced last month. These developments hint at a broader strategy to expand the Solana brand in the real world as well as the digital world.