Coffee giant Starbucks announced Friday that it is shutting down its Starbucks Odyssey beta platform, which offered NFT-based rewards issued on the Ethereum scaling network Polygon.
Starbucks will end its Odyssey beta platform on March 31st, and platform quests will remain available until March 25th. The Starbucks Odyssey Discord server is scheduled to shut down soon, on March 18th. There are no clear signs of Starbucks’ planned return to NFT forays.
“Starbucks Odyssey Beta is coming to an end in order to prepare for the next phase as we continue to evolve the program,” the official FAQ states.
The FAQ goes on to say that Starbucks is “working to create a place for members to connect in the future,” but there’s no hint that the platform will return in its current form or that an “evolved” version will eventually appear. .
“We look forward to seeing what comes next for you and appreciate your continued participation and feedback as the Starbucks Odyssey beta program concludes,” the FAQ reads. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to test different ways to build community and loyalty at Starbucks, and we look forward to bringing these learnings to a broader audience.”
Starbucks Odyssey launched in private beta in late 2022, and the coffee giant is one of the biggest examples of a major brand operating in the Web3 world. This is one of several major brands that Polygon has brought to its platform at the time.
Starbucks Odyssey, billed as an extension of the existing Starbucks Rewards program, offered benefits to users who purchased coffee and other products in stores and the ability to participate in quizzes and other content on the platform. They then offered a variety of rewards, including NFT stamps, drink-making classes, and tours of Costa Rican coffee farms.
Odyssey has remained in private beta since launch, with Starbucks occasionally selling limited-edition tradable NFT stamps to attract more users. The free NFT stamps offered to users in 2022 briefly saw demand increase in early 2023, when some NFTs were flipping for nearly $2,000 on the secondary market.
According to Starbucks, the brand’s Odyssey marketplace will be “transformed into the Nifty Marketplace,” referencing the brand’s technology partner, Nifty Gateway. And Polygon-based NFT stamps can not only be moved outside the platform, but can also be used and traded elsewhere.
Editor’s note: This article was updated with additional details after publication.
