Proof of Attendance and Digital Memorabilia

People have always kept mementos from events: ticket stubs, conference lanyards, festival wristbands and photos. In crypto, many of those mementos became digital. Proof of attendance tokens and similar badges let people record that they attended an event, joined a community call or took part in a moment. Over time, a wallet can hold a personal timeline of participation.

What proof of attendance means

A proof of attendance token is a digital badge, usually an NFT, distributed to people who took part in something. Organisers create a badge design and give attendees a way to claim it, such as a link, a code or a QR scan at the venue.

Once claimed, the badge sits in the attendee's wallet as a public record that the wallet was associated with the event.

Why people collect them

Collectors value badges for several reasons:

• Memory. Badges remind people of events and communities they were part of.
• Identity. A collection shows interests and history in the ecosystem.
• Reputation. Long histories of participation can signal commitment.
• Access. Some communities grant perks or roles to badge holders.
• Fun. Collecting unique designs is enjoyable in itself.

Badges from early or small events can become particularly meaningful to the people who attended.

Uses beyond events

Digital memorabilia has spread beyond conferences:

Use	Example
Community calls	Badge for attending a monthly call
Courses and workshops	Badge for completing a lesson
Contributors	Badge for a merged contribution or translation
Governance	Badge for voting in a proposal
Milestones	Badge for early users of a product

Projects use badges to recognise participation and sometimes to identify engaged community members for future opportunities.

Design and distribution tips

Organisers who issue badges well tend to:

1. Create designs that capture the event's personality
2. Keep claiming simple, ideally without complicated steps
3. Distribute codes carefully to avoid farming by non-attendees
4. Explain clearly whether badges carry any perks
5. Avoid implying badges have financial value

Clear communication prevents disappointment and discourages people who only collect badges hoping for future rewards.

The farming problem

When badges are linked to potential airdrops or rewards, people try to collect them without genuinely participating. Codes get shared publicly, bots claim badges and the signal of real participation weakens. Organisers respond with limited distribution windows, in-person claiming or additional verification.

Privacy considerations

Badges are public. A wallet holding many badges reveals where and when the owner attended events, which communities they joined and which interests they have. Combined with an ENS name or social profile, that information can identify a person and their movements.

Collectors who value privacy often:

• Use a separate wallet for badges
• Avoid linking that wallet to public identities
• Think twice before claiming badges from sensitive events

Organisers should respect privacy by not requiring personal data to claim.

Security reminders

Fake badge claim pages are a common phishing tactic. Claiming a badge should never require approving tokens, signing permits or sharing a seed phrase. Verify claim links through official event channels.

Keep designs meaningful

Badges people keep tend to capture something specific about the moment: the host city, a theme, an inside joke from the event or the date of a milestone. Generic badges reused across many events are quickly forgotten. Involving community artists in badge design also gives members another way to contribute and makes each badge feel like it belongs to the people who were there.

Marking places as well as moments

Badges record moments. Places matter too. Communities that host recurring events often mark their home city on the Proud Globe, giving attendees a public place to find the community between events and a pin that sits alongside the badges in their collection of memories.