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The NFT hype died. What is left is a quiet, useful pattern for loyalty and access.

Nobody wants to hear "NFT" anymore, and that is exactly why the brands quietly still using the underlying idea are not competing with anyone for attention.

9 min read

The NFT speculation bubble collapsed publicly and thoroughly enough that the word itself is now closer to a punchline than a pitch. What did not disappear is the underlying mechanism: a wallet-based, verifiable digital token that can unlock a specific benefit, without the token itself needing to be marketed as an investment, an art piece, or a get-rich scheme. That distinction, token as access key versus token as speculative asset, is the entire difference between what failed publicly and what is quietly still working.

Who is actually doing this right now, and how

BrandMechanismWhat it unlocks
ASICSSolana Pay pairs a physical purchase with an NFT loyalty badgeExclusive digital-to-physical benefits tied to real purchase history
HUGO BOSSHUGO BOSS XP program, integrated with the brand’s own appNFT-based rewards and token-gated access to specific products, blended with the existing loyalty experience
MichelinMICHELIN 3xplorer Club membership tokensDigital assets functioning as passports to premium real-world events and content
FoxA Web3 Shopify storefront built for the show KrapopolisToken-based access to exclusive merchandise and interactive scene voting for fans
KICKZ and KITABlockchain partnerships offering NFT memberships and crypto payment optionsA bridge between traditional retail loyalty and decentralized rewards
Notice what none of these examples do: none of them ask a customer to buy an NFT as a speculative asset. Every one of them uses the token as a receipt that unlocks something real.

The mechanism that survived the hype cycle

The NFT market crashed because people were sold a speculative asset dressed up as a product. The pattern that survived is the opposite: a verifiable digital receipt that unlocks a real benefit, sold as nothing more than that.

The technical term for this is tokengating, using a blockchain-verified token to gate access to a product drop, an event, a discount tier or a piece of content. The companies still running these programs successfully in 2026 have all made the same design choice: wallet connection and fiat-on-ramp tools that simplify the experience for a customer who is not crypto-native and never needs to think about crypto at all to participate.

Ways a brand can actually incorporate this, without chasing hype

  1. 1Tie a token to a purchase you already made, not a purchase of the token itself. Following the ASICS pattern, a token is a receipt for something real that already happened, never a thing sold on its own merit.
  2. 2Use it for genuine scarcity, not a marketing gimmick. An early-access product drop, an invite-only event, or a limited restock are legitimate uses. A generic "collect our NFTs" campaign with no real utility behind it is exactly the pattern that already failed publicly.
  3. 3Make the crypto invisible to the customer. A wallet connection and fiat-on-ramp should feel like a login, not a lesson in blockchain. Every example above that is still working treats this as non-negotiable.
  4. 4Start with your highest-loyalty customers, not your broadest audience. A token-gated benefit for an existing subscriber base or top-tier loyalty members is a far lower-risk pilot than a public campaign aimed at new customers.

Questions founders ask

Are NFTs still relevant for ecommerce brands in 2026?

The speculative NFT market collapsed, but the underlying mechanism, using a verifiable digital token to gate access to a real benefit, is still used successfully by brands including ASICS, HUGO BOSS and Michelin, typically without the word NFT appearing in customer-facing marketing.

What is tokengating?

Tokengating is using a blockchain-verified token to restrict access to something, such as a product drop, an event, a discount tier, or exclusive content, to customers who hold that specific token.

How does ASICS use NFTs in its loyalty program?

ASICS pairs a physical product purchase with an NFT loyalty badge using Solana Pay, which unlocks exclusive digital-to-physical benefits tied to a customer’s actual purchase history.

Should a small brand experiment with token-gated loyalty?

A low-risk starting point is piloting a token-gated benefit with an existing highest-loyalty customer segment rather than a broad public campaign, and keeping the wallet and payment experience simple enough that the customer never has to think about the underlying blockchain.

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