Are badges the Shitcoin of Nostr?
Right now, people are having fun creating badges, awarding badges, and of course receiving badges. Anyone can create them for any reason. Anyone can apply a value for them. There's an infinite supply of them. If this sounds familiar, that's because it's all of Bitcoiners counter-arguements against Shitcoins and NFTs. (We've all said these things.)
Badges aren't intended to be used in this capacity though. Badges are meant to be useful indicators. For example: If you're attending a conference, you'll be awarded a badge. If you're an early adopter of a specific relay, you're awarded a badge. If you're an early adopter or beta tester of a specific Nostr client, you're awarded a badge.
Eventually, badge recipients will be able to display their badges on their profiles. Clients will be able to choose which badges or even which badge providers they want to allow.
Eventually, badges will be reputation based and seem less Shitcoin-esque. Right now, people are just having fun, exploring a new feature.
So, let'em have fun! 🤙
Badges can't be traded. There's no harm in them. Plus, and this is a big plus, there's no fucking Shitcoin associated with them.
(That said, if someone were to charge X amounts of sats for a badge on an external website, there's no stopping anyone from doing this. It's an open protocol. Stay frosty.)
