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Solana Spaces CEO Vibhu Norby said the new physical Solana stores will introduce up to 100,000 people per month to the Solana ecosystem while also signaling plans to open a virtual storefront in the near future.<\/p>\n
Utilizing a grant from the Solana Foundation, the first Solana Spaces shop opened in the swanky Hudson Yards New York shopping center on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Addressing the community in an impromptu Twitter AMA on launch day, Norby explained the store is meant to teach new users about how to use decentralized applications (DApps)<\/a> and noted that it would be introducing thousands of people into the Solana blockchain:<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think people realize this but we\u2019re going to bring 50 to 100,000 people into Solana every month through these stores \u2014 and that\u2019s just this year.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Speaking to Cointelegraph in a phone interview following the AMA, Norby said the shop had 400 visitors, hinting also that new United States-based physical stores were in the works, and that \u201cthe store was designed for people who are brand new to blockchain.\u201d<\/p>\n Solana\u00a0is home to over a thousand DApps,\u00a0ranging from trading platforms, gaming and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to social media.<\/p>\n Solana Spaces NYC is now open: https:\/\/t.co\/jZcZ99l5Cj<\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019re the world\u2019s first retail & educational space dedicated to Web3.<\/p>\n Brought to you in collaboration with @solanafndn<\/a>, and partners @phantom<\/a>, @stepnofficial<\/a>, @orca_so<\/a>, @magiceden<\/a>, @metaplex<\/a>, @degenapeacademy<\/a> and more. pic.twitter.com\/VoKnrIMmWP<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Solana Spaces (@solanaspaces) July 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n While it is technically a store that sells a limited series of Solana-based merchandise, it mainly serves as a retail-as-a-service tutorial hub where new users receive free instructional sessions on how to set up a crypto wallet and connect to various DApps:<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a store designed to be a place where you buy things. It\u2019s a store designed to be an educational experience. We do sell merch, Solana socks and hoodies and other fun things, but that isn\u2019t the main point of it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Retail-as-a-service refers<\/a> to stores that serve as showrooms for the products that customers can buy online. This encourages the demonstration of the products and reduces the inventory requirements.<\/p>\n Norby added that the people who will get the most out of the shop are those who have little to no exposure to blockchain. He said that half of the patrons who visited on launch day either had some exposure to Ether (ETH<\/a>) or Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) or had no idea what any of it was. He said:<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t need to be here unless you want the sick merch. If you are trading NFTs full time, there\u2019s only so much value we can offer.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So far, shoppers have reacted positively to the new shop. Reciprocal venture capital partner Craig Burel called it \u201cpretty epic\u201d in a Twitter post on Thursday, echoing<\/a> the impressions of other shoppers.<\/p>\n IRL @solanaspaces<\/a> is next level pic.twitter.com\/0KljKm11sr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Austin Federa | sms (@Austin_Federa) July 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Solana Foundation helped fund the launch of the shop with a grant, but each tutorial is sponsored by a project running on the blockchain. Notably, Stepn, Orca, Solana Pay, Metaplex and Magic Eden are currently hosting tutorials at the shop. Customers receive an NFT for completing a tutorial.<\/p>\n While Solana Spaces launched<\/a> its first branch on Thursday, Norby hinted that a virtual store was also in development along with other physical stores. He also added that he eventually wanted stores in every country around the world.<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>Solana said to be \u2018more decentralized than people think,\u2019 but there\u2019s more<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Solana is in the process of expanding access to its network through the new store and a new Android mobile device called the Saga. Cointelegraph reported on June 24 that reactions to the new phone<\/a> were generally positive, with one person even calling Web3\u2019s \u201ciPhone moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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