In the cryptocurrency community, POAP stands for Proof of Attendance Protocol. The term is used both to refer to the Proof of Attendance Protocol as such, as well as the blockchain-based collectibles enabled by this protocol. For example, you might hear someone say “I got a POAP at the Ethereum meetup in New York City”.
Key highlights:
- POAP is an acronym for Proof of Attendance Protocol.
- However, the term POAP can also refer to digital collectibles issued through the protocol.
- The Proof of Attendance Protocol allows event organizers to give out digital collectibles to attendees to commemorate their attendance.
- Since they are technically NFTs, POAPs can be transferred between users and traded. Despite this, they’re primarily meant to have sentimental value and not monetary value.
What does POAP mean?
There are two separate, but closely related uses for the term “POAP”. Let’s quickly explore each.
POAP meaning as acronym for Proof of Attendance Protocol
POAP is an acronym for Proof of Attendance Protocol, which was first introduced at the ETHDenver 2019 event. The protocol allows event organizers to mint digital collectibles on a blockchain and distribute them to attendees to document that they attended the event. Users receive these digital collectibles in their cryptocurrency wallet.
POAP Inc, the company that created the Proof of Attendance Protocol, defines POAP in broader terms than the protocol’s typical use for documenting attendance at events.
“POAP is a public good, built on behalf of every human, to empower the individual with a reliable system for preserving memories and recognizing contributions to the collective happiness and well-being of the people around them.”
POAP meaning as digital collectible
The term POAP is also used to refer to the digital collectibles created through the Proof of Attendance Protocol.
Here’s an example of how the term can be used in this context:
“Everyone who attends the hackathon will be eligible to receive a POAP to commemorate the experience.”
From a technical standpoint, POAPs are NFTs (non-fungible tokens), which are minted using the ERC-721 standard. This means that it’s easy to verify a POAP’s authenticity, and the POAP can’t be arbitrarily changed by the issuer after it’s minted thanks to the immutability of blockchains.
POAPs are often distributed to attendees of real-life events such as conferences, meetups and hackathons. However, they can also be used to document someone’s attendance at a virtual event. POAPs are particularly popular in the Ethereum community.
A POAP digital collectible can have several pieces of information embedded in it. For example, the event’s start and end date, the address of the event’s website, the city where the event was held, and more. POAPs can also have a description embedded into them.
Since POAPs are technically NFTs, they can be transferred between users and traded on NFT marketplaces. However, that’s not really their intended use case, as POAPs were designed to serve as a badge of honor and a way for people to preserve memories. In other words, the value they hold is mainly sentimental.
The bottom line
The term “POAP” can be used either as an acronym for Proof of Attendance Protocol or to refer to the digital collectibles issued through this protocol. If you attend events and conferences related to cryptocurrency and blockchain, there’s a good chance that you will be able to collect some POAPs in your wallet to have a lasting memory of the experience on the blockchain.
If you want to learn more about the world of digital collectibles, makes sure to take a look at our NFT crash course.
Source: https://coincodex.com/article/37321/poap-meaning/