Yesterday, McDonalds launched their latest NFT project in Singapore.

2,000 digital collectibles were made available for minting on the Polygon blockchain, each of them featuring an image of Grimace, with unique expressions and apparel.

All 2,000 of these were fully minted.

The full list of all NFT minted can be seen in its own OpenSea collection.

Contributor Davin's Grimace Digital Collectible #74

While the NFTs are free to mint, they are limited to one NFT per McDonald account, and can only be minted as "soulbound" tokens.

What are Soulbound Tokens?

Soulbound tokens are publicly verifiable tokens, but are non-transferable.

Using a nifty bit of code, these tokens are tied to the wallet that minted them, and will remain within the wallet forever.

The idea first stemmed from Vitalik Buterin, one of Ethereum's co-founders.

This concept emerged within a blog post where Buterin drew parallels with "Soulbound items" from the popular fantasy game World of Warcraft.

These special items, once obtained, couldn't be traded or sold to other players, possessing a unique permanence.

Hence, these "soulbound" tokens are not developed to have a market value - rather, they are meant to be meaningful collectibles on the blockchain.

Vitalik said:

"A common criticism of the "web3" space as it exists today is how money-oriented everything is.

People celebrate the ownership, and outright waste, of large amounts of wealth, and this limits the appeal and the long-term sustainability of the culture that emerges around these items.

There are of course important benefits that even financialised NFTs can provide, such as funding artists and charities that would otherwise go unrecognized. However, there are limits to that approach, and a lot of underexplored opportunity in trying to go beyond financialisation.

Making more items in the crypto space "soulbound" can be one path toward an alternative, where NFTs can represent much more of who you are and not just what you can afford."

Mcdonald's Collaboration with Bandwagon Labs

McDonald's worked with crypto startup Bandwagon Labs to develop the NFTs, which were designed by Singaporean NFT artist @thehiddenwalls.

Drina Chee, Senior Director, Marketing & Digital Customer Experience shared:

"We're excited to bring Grimace closer to our fans through these unique digital collectibles. Grimace holds a special place in the hearts of many of our superfans, and this initiative allows us to evolve the character from nostalgic moments to love for all generations.”

Grimace, one of McDonald's mascots, was introduced in 1971, and is known for his friendly and playful personality and appearance.

Chee also added that Grimace holds a special place for many McDonald's fans and that this initiative allows the company to evolve the character from nostalgic memories to love for all generations.

For this latest NFT release, holders can expect new discount items and coupons every single week.

This week, the reward is a free milkshake treat.

In addition, NFT holders are also promised access to exclusive events and merchandise, and are invited to a holder exclusive Telegram chat.

McDonald's Continued Interest in Web3

This isn't McDonald's first foray into Web3 either.

During the NFT bull run of 2021, McDonald's also launched commemorative McRib sandwich NFTs and the Big Mac NFT artwork.

Earlier this year, McDonald's also celebrated the 40th anniversary of Chicken McNuggets by opening McNuggets Land in metaverse platform The Sandbox.

Last year, the company had also filed a patent application to operate "a virtual restaurant online featuring home delivery".

In McNuggets Land, players had the chance to win exclusive rewards, including mystery boxes, in-game currency, and memorabilia.

Users in Hong Kong could obtain additional rewards, such as free Chicken McNuggets and meal redemption coupons.