Stephanie Douse 
As part of a new connect-to-consumer experience, Shopify has launched the “tokengate” initiative. Only select merchant partners will be able to roll out exclusive goods for NFT stakeholders.
Shopify will enable retailers to engage with customers and boost sales by providing exclusive items for token holders as part of a new wave of connect-to-consumer efforts established this year. The “tokengate” initiative is accessible in early-access beta mode.
Vendors can add the feature in-store or establish a tokengate shop straight on the Shopify app to get started. In order to purchase gated goods or gain admission to special events, customers would then need to connect their cryptocurrency wallet and confirm they are the owners of the necessary nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. The function acts as a conduit between the platform’s NFT communities and consumer brands.
Vendors can also collaborate with other brands to create forthcoming NFT drops and create premium products with Shopify’s merchandising partners. Additionally, on well-known blockchains like Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Flow, sellers can mint unique NFTs. Once listed, they can sell them directly from their store.
Select merchants having an NFT collection are only permitted access to the beta upon invitation. To buy NFTs, neither the vendor nor the customer must use cryptocurrency as payment.
Credit or debit cards, Shopify Payments, Shop Pay, and different crypto payment gateways are examples of payment gateways. NFTs can be claimed by buyers by email and added right to their wallets.
Evan Keast, a co-founder of Doodles whose NFTs project has joined the effort, said:
“As an ambitious community-driven project, we’ve placed a strong emphasis on setting the standard for unique NFT collector experiences. By partnering with Shopify on tokengated merch, we surprised our holders and gave the ownership of a Doodle a whole new meaning.”