Feb 03, 2022
National Parks NFT is a new membership-rewards concept that pairs NFTs with real-world adventure. It begins with artwork related to one of 63 US national parks. Each piece of art serves as an un-copyable record that gives its owner access to the NFT Holders Club.
So What?
On the surface, all interesting, all good. The first public sale sold out in 7 minutes, and the NFT community are clamouring for more. The creator’s ambition is to build a community where members gain access to gear and experiences while giving back to the parks through “supporting the work of the National Parks Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks and other park and environmental charities”.
However…. Dig through pages and pages of white papers and club promise statements and you get to this: “We are not affiliated with the US National Parks Service or any of its entities. Our project is aligned around the theme of national parks, not the official branded trademark park names”.
This is a for-profit entity trading off the brand recognition and credibility of an established institution. We’ve contacted the US National Parks Service for a comment, but they have so far remained silent on social media.
We believe this example cements takeaway 18 from the Storytelling Reunion - in order to understand the road ahead you need to stay up to date and informed. There are a lot of problems with NFTs (environmental impact, democratisation of access, risk of fraud, etc. etc. etc.), but that doesn't mean there isn't potential or futures ways to make them work.