According to the latest report by the blockchain analytics firm Nansen, the NFT (Non-Fungible-Token) Market, rose exponentially in the first quarter of 2022, exceeding the cryptocurrency industry. The report emphasized the rapid growth in the NFT market, predicting a market valuation of $80 million by 2025.
Ryde CEO Talks About Launching NFTs, Its ‘Ride-To-One’ Model, And Crypto Payments!!!
Ryde, a Singapore-based carpool, taxi, or private hire ride-hailing app, launched its NFT collection called RydePals and increased the number of crypto payment options on its in-app wallet on Friday (April 15) as part of a strategy to grow its user base, targeting the rapidly rising market segment of Singaporeans who own cryptocurrency.
The RydePals will be hosted on the Polygon blockchain network, to ensure easy and cheap mint. In 2020, Ryde began accepting cryptocurrency payments in Bitcoin and the platform has more than 200,000 monthly active users as of today.
“The first 3,350 Ryde+ subscribers will receive a RydePal in their Web3 wallet,” says Ryde founder and CEO Terence Zou.
RydePal NFTs will come in different rarities, each with its own reward structure. Advantages like Priority booking, cashback, and select premium services will be available to cardholders in the future. NFTs will be freely traded on notable NFT marketplaces like Open sea.
What Is The Purpose Of Ryde’s NFT Collection?
NFTs are a great tool for building loyalty within a community!
According to Ryde founder and CEO Terence Zou, the campaign will increase loyalty among Ryde’s community of riders by providing compelling reasons to stay and contribute to the platform’s growth.
This “ride-to-earn” model of breeding new NFTs, and gratifying rewards can turn each ride from a boring activity to something more fun and exciting!
His long-term vision is that when a rider owns a RydePal, he owns an NFT that supports real-world community use, and establishes him as a member of the Ryde community.
Other international brands, such as Burger King and Marriott have also launched NFT rewards as part of their loyalty programs for customers.
Why Is It Such A Big Deal?
“RydePals is the first major NFT collection announced from a large consumer-facing company in Singapore, and we hope this will lead to a wider awareness of NFTs amongst a more diverse group of Singaporean consumers,” says the CEO, Zou.
Along with the launch of its own NFT collection, Ryde is also looking to expand its crypto-payment options, riders will soon be able to pay for their trips in 70 different cryptocurrencies.
It is an essential step toward Singapore’s growth as a crypto-friendly nation.
What’s Next For Ryde?
Bringing together incentive mechanisms such as ‘Play-to-Win’ and ‘Participate-to-Win’, which have been popularized by the Web3 games and social media applications, the ‘Ride-to-Earn’ model is Ryde’s unique way of adding fun, rewards, and delivering value to its riders and an excellent strategy to attract more customers, and stand out from the competition.
‘In the future, customers will be able to ‘Breed’ new generations of RydePal by matching the RylePals of drivers and riders, perhaps they could even use them in mini-games to earn RydeCoins that can be used for in-app purchases,’ said, Zou.
Last year, Ryde said it is looking forward to an initial public offering (ILP) on the Singapore Exchange’s Catalist board in 2022.
