Solana Spaces today announced the opening of the world’s first permanent physical retail, educational, and community space dedicated to Web3 at The Shops at Hudson Yards on Level 2, in Manhattan, New York.
Solana Spaces was founded in 2022 and is based in San Francisco. Spaces, created in collaboration with The Solana Foundation, who funded and incubated the store, introduces an immersive consumer experience for Web3, specifically the Solana blockchain and its ecosystem. The founding team is a group of retail designers and engineers that also founded b8ta, the innovative and award-winning electronics retailer.
Within the space, visitors will find a variety of tutorials on programming and experiences for new entrants into the crypto-technology industry, often offering unique rewards for participation. Highlighted experiences upon launch include the following:
- User onboarding with Phantom Wallet, Solana’s largest self-custody wallet app
- Digital tutorials in partnership with Orca, STEPN, Solana Pay, Metaplex, and Magic Eden
- Solana Saga, Solana’s flagship Web3 mobile phone, for customers to preview in person
- Interactive art installation that features a data visualization of what is happening on the Solana Blockchain in real time
- Solana 101, an educational presentation on Solana’s technology
- NFT Gallery and limited-edition merchandise featuring new collections every month, starting with Degenerate Ape Academy, one of the most iconic NFT collections on the Solana blockchain
- Full retail store with exclusive merchandise and NFT collection drops
“Solana has the most active and fastest growing ecosystem of developers in Web3 today, showcased in part by its large number of daily active users. Even with this in mind, we won’t rest until everyone is onboarded into the space,” said Vibhu Norby, CEO of Solana Spaces. “We’ve collaborated with some of Solana’s top projects and creators to design an introduction to crypto-tech that is open and accessible. It’s an experiment that we think a lot of people will love.” According to data provided by CoinMarketCap, in May 2022, the number of daily active wallets on Solana was 37M, up from an average of 20M in Q1 2022.
“Solana Spaces is creating a truly immersive experience that will help people learn about Web3 in a fun and interactive way,” said Brandon Millman, Phantom CEO and Co-Founder. “Education and discovery is a completely different experience in-person. We are thrilled to be the featured wallet partner for Solana Spaces and look forward to welcoming so many more people into the crypto ecosystem.”
Solana Spaces also plans to feature a roster of new products and collaborations with brands that will frequently be updated. During opening week, the location will exhibit a limited-edition physical and digital shoe designed in collaboration with Blanksoles, as well as NETGEAR’s Meural Digital Canvas will allow users to connect their Phantom Wallet to project their own Solana NFTs onto the display.
All store merchandise is available for purchase via credit card. However, shoppers who opt to use Solana Pay, Solana Labs’ instant payments product, receive steep discounts and special merchandise like branded bags. Solana Spaces is open to the public every day at The Shops at Hudson Yards from Monday to Saturday at 10 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m-7 p.m.
