We interviewed Alex Adelman, co-founder and CEO of Lolli. Founded in 2018, Lolli is a bitcoin rewards app that allows people to earn bitcoin or cash back when they shop online or in person at over 10,000 stores like McDonald's, Starbucks, Dunkin', CVS, Costco, etc. Previously, Adelman was part of the team that built the Cosmic commerce gateway, which was acquired by PopSugar in 2015 before finally folding to Ebates (now Rakuten) in 2017.
“I have been selling bitcoin to merchants since 2013,” Adelman said. "So it wasn't a new sale: for better or worse, I was the bitcoin guy for a bunch of Fortune 500 traders."
Lolli has grown significantly in recent years, going from partnering with fewer than 500 stores in its first few months to more than 10.000 stores to date. Adelman delved into the rewards system in the crypto ecosystem and how it has evolved over the years – and what the future holds for Lolli.
“We have been talking about the future of loyalty and its implication in cryptocurrency for a long time,” Adelman said. "Now it's paying off."
We also discuss whether Bitcoin NFTs are good for the ecosystem, how the technology can grow in the long term, and the chances that these digital signups will potentially fit into Lolli's business model.
"I strongly believe that the best NFTs are the memes that are going to last forever and the art that is going to last forever," Adelman said. "When things have a utility, their value is finite, instead of infinitely believing that they can be the next Mona Lisa. That's the difference: We've been intentional about what has value."
In the future, Adelman also believes that more artists and projects will launch with Bitcoin. “I think Lightning markets where you can buy and sell Bitcoin NFTs will probably start to emerge in the next few months,” Adelman added. "Artists want to build in ecosystems where there is liquidity, where there are people to buy, and there is no better ecosystem than Bitcoin."
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