The crypto bull market may be driving a renewed interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
According to DappRadar, the NFT sector has seen a 50% surge in trading volume for the first quarter of this year, generating $3.9 billion in revenue. These findings indicate this has been the strongest quarter for NFTs since Q1 2023.
NFT hype is also sparking mainstream interest. Web3 quests in particular are gaining traction, as these interactive games are being implemented at different events this year.
Quests Drive Engagement Using Web3 Elements
A blog post from growth platform Intract explains that Web3 quests blend gaming elements with digital assets. This may create better user engagementsince a game’s narrative is told while digital assets are earned as rewards.
Although this is a fairly new concept, the popular music festival Coachella recently announced “Coachella Quests.” This is a loyalty game powered by the smart contact platform Avalanche that rewards festival-goers for participating in different Coachella experiences.
Paul Chodirker, Director of Enterprise Business Development for Ava Labs, told Cryptonews that the goal behind Coachella Quests is to increase and amplify digital participation.
“We want to bridge the digital world with the physical,” said Chodirker. “We believe Coachella is at the nexus of this hybrid, in-real-life experience.”
Chodirker explained that Coachella Quests allow fans to complete on-site and virtual challenges. Once tasks are completed, fans will earn “digital stamps, ” NFTs. Users will also earn token points called “XP,” which can unlock exclusive prizes and festival experiences.
Coachella Quests unlocks a new way for fans to experience the festival, powered by Avalanche 🎡
Quests allows fans to gamify their festival experience and earn rewards by engaging with digital and physical @Coachella touchpoints, including innovative art, games, and immersive… pic.twitter.com/4guzD2v0aY
— Avalanche 🔺 (@avax) April 3, 2024
“There will be an in-person activation taking place at a special Avalanche/Coachella Quests Hideaway, which is open to all festival-goers,” said Chodirker. “Rewards can be redeemed at the Hideaway, where users can onboard and view interactive digital art installations. This will also serve as a hub for information and meet-ups.”
Chodirker added that the XP points are tokens that will be stored in a custodial wallet. He explained that users can sign in to the wallet with a familiar social login feature.
“The product was designed to create a seamless user experience on the front end that web2 consumers are accustomed to while utilizing blockchain on the backend to authenticate, and provide ownership of the digital items,” he explained.
While this may be, Web3 quests are already being embraced by crypto natives. Dylan Abruscato, Founder of Crypto: The Game, told Cryptonews that it’s a 10-day crypto survival game, inspired by Survivor, The Hunger Games, and Squid Game.
Abruscato explained that while Crypto: The Game isn’t a quest in itself, it consists of daily immunity challenges.
“These challenges range from competing in arcade games to participating in digital scavenger hunts, introducing in-game challenges, or quests,” he said.
Abruscato shared that Season 2 of Crypto: The Game will begin on April 8 and is powered by Base, the Ethereum Layer-2 incubated by Coinbase. The new season was inspired by the success of the first season of Crypto: The Game, which attracted 410 players.
“A Japan-based player known as ‘MFL’ won the grand prize pot of 41 ETH, and was revered by his tribemates for the poetry he shared each morning,” said Abruscato.
Onchain Spotlight 🔆 Crypto: The Game
Season 2 of @cryptothegame_ is back in action on @base and the stakes are higher than ever.
Many will play, but only one will win. pic.twitter.com/B6LbEup8yc
— Coinbase Wallet 🛡️ (@CoinbaseWallet) April 3, 2024
Web3 Quests Enable On-Chain Data Collection
While Web3 quests may result in better fan engagement, it’s important to point out that user data is not collected.
Sam Schoonover, Innovation Lead for Coachella, told Cryptonews that, “no personal data is being collected by Coachella for this program.”
He added that, “Coachella is able to get information about quests completed and general interest around certain activities by viewing on-chain stamp distribution.”
This may be one of the most beneficial aspects of incorporating Web3 quests at major events. For instance, VICE reported in 2017 that Coachella experienced a data breach that impacted 950,000 user accounts. The data compromised included email addresses, usernames and hashed passwords. All of this information was sold on the dark web.
Being able to drive fan engagement, while only having access to on-chain data from NFTs can help protect a user’s personal information.
Abruscato noted that during season 1 of Crypto: The Game players were only identified by their social media X handles. He shared that season 2 will allow anonymous play through an NFT minting mechanism.
“Players mint an NFT to secure a spot in the game, which can be sold at any time, enabling spectators and former players to buy in,” he said. “This unique crypto mechanic creates a dynamic in-game economy.”
Challenges May Hamper Mainstream Adoption
Valentina Lauria, Business Development and Partnership Lead at Web3 membership platform Unlock Protocol, told Cryptonews that quests are undoubtedly becoming a popular tool to incorporate during events.
“Unlock had a big presence at ETH Denver and quests were a huge part of driving engagement during the event,” Lauria said.
She added that using tokens as rewards tends to drive engagement.
“Event attendees will often want to collect as many rewards as possible,” she said. “Even if the rewards have no financial worth, rewards could certainly become more valuable in the future.”
Lauria noted that incorporating quests into events can be challenging, however.
“Making these tools as easy to use for newcomers as possible while still leveraging Web3 technology is the real challenge,” she said.
While this may be easy enough for a Web3 audience, non-crypto natives may struggle with quests.
Yet Schoonover is optimistic that Coachella Quests will appeal to the mainstream.
According to Schoonover, Coachella is abstracting away from the Web3 technology portion, and rather focusing on creating a fun and engaging experience.
“We don’t believe that fans need to know or even care about the technology that they’re using,” he said. “As long as it solves a problem or makes their lives better, they will try it out.”
This may also be why Coachella refers to its quest NFT as “stamps.” Chris Castiglione, Co-founder of Web3 events platform Console, told Cryptonews that while there are mainstream use cases for NFTs, the terminology does not need to be mentioned.
“In five years, I don’t believe anyone will be saying the word ‘NFT’ anymore,”said Castiglione. “Yet, I think NFTs (the technology) will be ingrained into many of the apps we use; they’ll just be invisible.When technology becomes invisible, that’s when it’s most successful.”
Coachella Aims To Expand Its Web3 Footprint
Interestingly, Coachella partnered with NFT marketplace OpenSea this year to offer fans non-fungible token keepsakes.
“Coachella Keepsakes are NFTS that come with festival tickets and exclusive onsite and online benefits,” said Schoonover.
Devin Finzer, CEO of OpenSea, told Cryptonews that the platform’s collaboration with Coachella remains ongoing.
“The collaboration between the parties is ongoing, as we seek to reimagine how ticketing, festival access, and music fandom in general can be further enhanced through the use of NFT technology,” he said. “In the immediate term, another Keepsakes offering connected to special merch access from Coachella is planned for mid-April.”