Proof of Attendance Protocol shuts down after five years, citing unsustainable business model

Aug 3, 2026

Proof of Attendance Protocol is winding down operations after five years, co-founder Isabel Gonzalez announced on August 3, 2026. Despite raising $10 million in 2022 and minting nearly 7.6 million badges for partners like Coinbase and American Express, the project failed to build a sustainable business model without a native token. While existing ERC-721 collectibles remain permanently on Gnosis Chain and Ethereum, the future of POAP's hosted metadata services and gallery tools remains uncertain.

POAP shutdown announcement

▪Proof of Attendance Protocol co-founder Isabel Gonzalez announced on August 3, 2026, that the project is winding down after more than five years of operation.
▪Proof of Attendance Protocol has stopped issuing new badges under its current system as part of its wind-down process.
▪The Proof of Attendance Protocol team plans to shift its resources toward developing a new open collectibles standard.

Unsustainable business model

▪Proof of Attendance Protocol operated without a native token, which left the project without a built-in revenue flywheel or speculative trading premium to fund development.
▪Proof of Attendance Protocol raised $10 million in a January 2022 seed funding round led by Archetype and Sapphire Sport.
▪Proof of Attendance Protocol introduced fees for some commercial issuers to support long-term operations, but the strategy failed to generate a sustainable revenue model.
▪Proof of Attendance Protocol struggled to build a sustainable business model because crypto funding cycles and distribution dynamics conflicted with the project's core ethos.

Platform usage metrics

▪Nearly 7.6 million Proof of Attendance Protocol badges were minted by more than 46,000 issuers prior to the shutdown announcement.
▪Proof of Attendance Protocol originated at the ETHDenver hackathon in 2019, where approximately 100 ERC-721 badges were initially issued to participants.

Maintenance mode transition

▪Proof of Attendance Protocol placed its platform into maintenance mode on March 16, 2026, ending active development and halting the onboarding of new issuers.
▪During its maintenance mode phase, Proof of Attendance Protocol allowed approved issuers, collector tools, APIs, and existing integrations to continue operating.

Onchain collectible preservation

▪Previously minted Proof of Attendance Protocol badges will remain permanently onchain as ERC-721 tokens on Gnosis Chain and Ethereum.
▪Continued access to Proof of Attendance Protocol's gallery, applications, and metadata services remains uncertain and depends on how long the company maintains its supporting infrastructure.

Corporate partnership history

▪Proof of Attendance Protocol created special digital badges to commemorate historic Ethereum milestones, including the transition to proof-of-stake known as The Merge.
▪Proof of Attendance Protocol collaborated with major corporate organizations including Coinbase, American Express, Warner Music Group, and Bayer.