POAP, the Proof of Attendance Protocol, is shutting down after more than five years, having issued nearly 7.6 million onchain badges for events, DAOs, and classes across over 46,000 issuers worldwide. Co-founder Isabel Gonzalez said POAP could not find a sustainable business model without compromising its ethos, pointing to volatile crypto funding cycles, distribution challenges, and reliance on a fragile, fast-changing technology stack during speculative periods. Existing POAP badges will remain onchain and tradable as the wind-down, started in March, concludes. The closure joins other recent crypto project shutdowns, while Gonzalez reflects on durability, brand moats, and go-to-market strategies in the AI era.
This update represents a notable development in the Crypto sector. Organizations and founders tracking this space should evaluate potential strategic and technical implications on their operations.