World Cup Trading Card NFT Platform

The Problem

During the initial launch of ERC-721 token contracts in 2018, Ethereum gave birth to the concept of Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Initial use cases such as CryptoKitties struck a broad audience of crypto and non-crypto enthusiasts alike. The UI/UX flow for creating, purchasing, or trading NFTs was fresh out of the oven and still needed much experimentation. We wanted to contribute improvements to the UI/UX and overall decentralization of the NFT ecosystem.

The Solution

To create an engaging experience and push the initial limits of NFTs, we partnered with Faculty to create digital trading cards on the Ethereum blockchain as ERC721 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for the FIFA World Cup. Each card was uniquely designed using a custom automated illustration system, and players were able to bid on and trade these unique cards on digital markets like OpenSea.

The first major challenge we tackled was onboarding flow. We reduced a 17-step onboarding flow to a 3-step integrated signup wizard using the results of initial user research studies. We learned some of the most challenging aspects of crypto-onboarding, and continue working on solutions for the blockchain community.

The second challenge regarding decentralization stemmed from existing NFTs using legacy asset storage on major cloud providers. We partnered with the founder of OpenSea to add support for IPFS hash addresses, allowing our NFTs to store the underlying art assets on a decentralized file system. This solution was later highlighted during the 2021 NFT “rug pulls”.