POAP

What POAP does

POAP Inc, headquartered in New York, builds and operates the Proof of Attendance Protocol, a blockchain-based standard for minting self-custodied digital collectibles (NFTs) that serve as immutable proof of attendance at events, conferences, and experiences. Founded as a concept in 2019 and formally incorporated in 2021, the company has scaled to 51-100 employees and reports 1,000,000+ POAPs minted across 10,000+ issuers. The product surface spans a self-serve Drops platform (drops.poap.xyz), a mobile app (POAP Home on iOS and Android with 10K+ downloads), and ancillary modules including POAP Moments (photo attachments), POAP Fun (raffle mechanics), POAP Gallery, POAP Passport (gamified collector journeys), and POAP Collections.

The company monetizes through a tiered commercial model: POAP Credits (self-serve prepaid balance at $25 per 100 credits), POAP Premium ($5,000 per branded activation), POAP Journey ($10,000 gamified multi-POAP package with branded Passport), and a POAP Platform API for enterprise embedding with monthly access fees. Enterprise sales run through a dedicated Enterprise Services division, while self-serve drives long-tail adoption. Notable enterprise customers include Bayer (700+ drops, 1,000+ employees across 60 countries), Coinbase, Porsche, BMW, VanEck, Adidas, Sotheby's, Johnnie Walker, Google Cloud, Tommy Hilfiger, Cisco, US Open, Budweiser, Red Bull, and Spotify, alongside non-commercial deployments like the City of Rosario's Messi tourism circuit and L2DAYS at Devconnect 2023.

In March 2026, POAP announced it is halting new service development and onboarding, transitioning to maintenance mode for its existing single-app product while it develops an Open Collectibles Standard focused on layer-2 scalability, cross-chain interoperability, and lower minting costs. The pivot reframes the company from application operator toward protocol/infrastructure provider, but it also constrains near-term commercial growth in the existing product line. The company has raised $10 million (January 2022 seed round led by Archetype and 359 Capital) and operates with no disclosed parent company or subsequent priced institutional round.

Name

POAP

Legal name

POAP Inc

Website

https://poap.xyz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

POAP Inc operates the Proof of Attendance Protocol, a blockchain-based standard for minting self-custodied digital collectibles as event attendance proofs. It serves enterprise brands, event organizers, and individual collectors across self-serve and managed-service tiers, with notable clients including Bayer, Coinbase, and Porsche.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. POAP Credits: Self-serve prepaid credit system for commercial issuers. Credits are purchased in advance and debited when creating POAP drops. Credits never expire. This is the primary revenue stream for smaller commercial event organizers.
2. POAP Premium: Premium tier at $5,000 per activation offering fully branded user flow, customized data fields, branded emails, and POAP Fun raffle integration. Sold as a one-time or periodic managed service engagement to enterprise clients.
3. POAP Journey: Gamified engagement package at $10,000 including POAP Premium plus branded POAP Passport, leaderboard functionality, program design guidance, and customized emails. Targets enterprise events seeking multi-day or multi-event experiences.
4. POAP Platform (API Integration): Custom API integration for enterprise platforms to mint and display POAPs directly within their own products. Pricing varies based on project scope. Ongoing monthly API access included.
5. Future Protocol Infrastructure: Strategic pivot toward developing open infrastructure and standards for digital collectibles. Intended to drive protocol-level adoption and enterprise use cases through layer-2 and cross-chain solutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

POAP operates a blockchain-based protocol and platform for creating, distributing, and collecting digital collectibles (POAPs) that serve as proof of attendance or participation at events and experiences. Built on Ethereum, POAPs are self-custodied digital collectibles minted via a self-serve platform (drops.poap.xyz) and managed through mobile and web applications. The company offers enterprise services for large brands and agencies alongside tiered self-serve commercial solutions for event organizers.

Product overview

POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol) operates as a platform-plus-ecosystem architecture. At its core are the POAP Protocol and the POAP App/Platform, which serve as the unified system for minting, distributing, and collecting blockchain-based digital collectibles. The ecosystem is extended through multiple companion products: the POAP Home mobile app (iOS/Android) for on-the-go access, POAP Moments for attaching photo memories to collectibles, POAP Fun for raffle mechanics, and POAP Gallery, Collectors, and Collections for browsing and curating. Commercial users access the platform through three paid tiers — POAP Credits (self-serve, $25/100 credits), POAP Premium (branded experience, $5,000), and POAP Journey (gamified multi-POAP experience, $10,000) — plus the POAP Platform API integration for enterprise partners. In March 2026, POAP announced it is halting new service development and stopping new onboarding, pivoting from its single-app model to develop an Open Collectibles Standard and next-generation infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• POAP Home: Mobile application for enjoying POAP collection on the go
• POAP Gallery
• POAP Fun
• POAP Moments
• POAP Collections
• POAP Credits
• POAP Premium
• POAP Journey
• POAP Platform
• POAP Passport

Products and services

• POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol) The core open protocol for minting, distributing, and collecting digital collectibles (POAPs) as proof-of-attendance records stored on the blockchain. Serves as the foundational standard underpinning the entire POAP ecosystem for issuers, collectors, and developers.
• POAP Drops Self-serve web platform at drops.poap.xyz for creating and distributing POAPs to collectors. Issuers create accounts, mint POAPs by filling out a form, and drop collectibles directly to their audience for events, conferences, product launches, and community milestones.
• POAP Home Mobile App Native mobile application (iOS and Android) for POAP collectors to browse, manage, and interact with their POAP collection on the go, with first-class support for POAP Moments photo memories. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
• POAP Gallery Web application allowing users to explore and discover POAPs across the ecosystem, browse the universe of collectibles minted through the protocol, and view curated content from issuers.
• POAP Collectors Web portal enabling users to view POAPs owned by a specific collector, scan collector profiles, and browse individual portfolios of digital collectibles.
• POAP Collections Web application for creating and viewing curated collections of POAPs, organized by issuers or community members to group related collectibles into themed sets.
• POAP Fun Raffle and prize application for POAP issuers where each POAP acts as a ticket to enter raffles, enabling issuers to reward collectors and gamify event engagement.
• POAP Moments Feature allowing collectors to attach photos and media to their POAPs, creating richer multimedia memories associated with each digital collectible. Accessed via the POAP Home mobile app.
• POAP Platform API Enterprise API integration tier enabling platforms to mint and display POAPs directly within their own products and interfaces. Includes ongoing monthly API access and program design guidance. Pricing varies based on project scope.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,000,000+ POAPs minted across thousands of events
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• AmperacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Ampera partnered with POAP at Consensus 2024 to create interactive challenges and an on-chain raffle. The POAP Fun app powered a live raffle where POAPs served as tickets. 1,000 people participated in the raffle.
• L2BEAT / ScrollcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023L2BEAT and Scroll co-organized L2DAYS, a two-day side event during Devconnect 2023 in Istanbul. POAP collaborated with them to create a scavenger hunt experience using NFC discs and POAPs, transforming the event floor into an interactive space.
• MorphL2minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023MorphL2 participated as a sponsor in the L2DAYS event, issuing a branded POAP using NFC discs. Sponsored POAPs encouraged attendees to visit booths and engage with sponsors.
• BayerflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBayer is POAP's flagship enterprise customer, using POAPs extensively for employee engagement across hundreds of drops. Bayer's Business Disruption Team partnered with POAP to drive internal innovation, gamify team activities, and introduce web3 technology to employees. Results include 700+ POAP drops and 1,000+ employees in 60 countries reached.
• CoinbasecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoinbase is featured as a trusted brand on POAP's enterprise solutions page and homepage. Coinbase uses POAPs to commemorate events and engage its community of users and stakeholders.
• PorschecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPorsche is listed as a trusted enterprise brand using POAP for brand engagement and community activations, including the APEFEST event.
• BMWcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBMW partnered with POAP for the APEFEST event, using POAPs as part of the brand's Web3 and event engagement strategy.
• VanEckminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVanEck is listed as a trusted enterprise client on POAP's enterprise solutions page, using POAPs for event commemoratives.
• World of Women (WoW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld of Women partnered with POAP to distribute digital collectibles at their in-person and online events, generating real connections with community members and beyond.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Manifold: NFT creator tools platform providing minting, marketplace, and contract infrastructure for brands and creators. Comparable to POAP's Platform API tier and competes for the same enterprise white-label NFT deployment workloads.
• Galxe: Web3 credentialing and quest-completion platform that issues on-chain credentials and NFTs as proof of participation. Directly comparable to POAP in using NFTs as engagement/attendance tokens for communities and events, with overlapping enterprise and event-organizer customer segments.
• Layer3: Web3 quests and engagement platform that rewards users with on-chain tokens and NFTs for completing tasks and attending events. Competes head-to-head with POAP for event organizer and community engagement use cases, leveraging similar gamification and credentialing mechanics.
• Zora: Open protocol and creator tools for minting and distributing NFTs, with a strong focus on creator monetization and protocol-level infrastructure. Directly comparable to POAP's Open Collectibles Standard ambitions, and competes for the same NFT infrastructure mindshare.
• Mintable: NFT minting and marketplace platform with strong self-serve and branded storefront tools for issuers. Directly competes with POAP Drops for the same commercial event and brand issuer workflows at lower price points.

Broad incumbents

• OpenSea: Largest NFT marketplace by volume, with broad NFT infrastructure ambitions including its own OS2 protocol. As an established incumbent in NFT distribution, it represents an alternative path for brands considering POAP's platform API offering.
• Rarible: Multi-chain NFT marketplace and aggregation platform. Operates more broadly across NFT trading, minting, and aggregation rather than specializing in event-based collectibles, but competes for the same NFT issuance and distribution workflows.

Emerging players

• Sound.xyz: Music-focused NFT platform that mints songs as collectibles for fans and artists. Shares POAP's DNA of issuing NFTs as proof-of-participation/experience, but specializes in music rather than event-based engagement.
• HeyMint: No-code NFT minting and loyalty tool focused on brands and creators wanting branded digital collectibles. Overlaps with POAP's self-serve Credits and Premium tiers, particularly for SMB event organizers and brand loyalty use cases.

Others

• Eventbrite: Largest consumer event ticketing and registration platform. Not a direct NFT competitor, but represents the incumbent event infrastructure layer that POAP enterprise customers (Bayer, conference organizers) use alongside POAP drops — making it an adjacent ecosystem player.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/poapxyz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/poapxyz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors16 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about POAP