Introducing ‘Lonely Ape Dating Club’: the world’s first dating app for NFT enthusiasts
Remember the time dating apps were filled with unsettling gym selfies and B612-filtered photos as profile pictures? They were once what anime avatars are to Discord today: huge turn offs. Over the past few months, however, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been gripping every single social media platform under the sun—including the likes of Tinder and Bumble.
Sure, those who hold the original proof of ownership of an NFT are bound to flaunt them around. I mean, that’s the entire purpose of the digital assets in question. But when NFTs make their way onto dating apps, where first impressions often hinge on a bunch of photographs—or maybe even a meta selfie or two—they’ve proven rather unsuccessful in capturing interests and sustaining conversations. If you’re having a hard time believing these claims, here’s documented proof:
1) downloaded tinder
— FΞLD | mrbayc.eth (@Feld4014) March 13, 2022
2) matched with a woman
3) exchanged banter with said woman
4) scheduled date for Monday night
5) Sunday night got this message saying she didn't think we'd be compatible because... (See screenshot)#NFTs
I CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP FAM 🤣 pic.twitter.com/I4xdKKy6CL
But fret not, blockchain bros and crypto queens. Just like meme-based dating app Schmooze and ateam for fitness enthusiasts, there’s a new matchmaking app exclusively designed to connect NFT owners from across the world. Meet the Lonely Ape Dating Club.
Created by Year 4000 Labs, a ragtag team of hackers and NFT collectors interested in integrating crypto and Web3 into the dating space, Lonely Ape Dating Club is hailed as the “first NFT-focused dating app”—starting with avid enthusiasts of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC).
Here, users will be able to connect their crypto wallets and earn tokens for swiping through and engaging with matches. Apart from this match-to-earn feature, the app lets you shrink the dating pool even further by filtering potential partners based on the net worth of cryptocurrency and NFTs held in their wallets. You can also grab the attention of other potential lovers by sending them tips in crypto and show off other metrics on your profile. For example, you could choose to flaunt your track record of ‘diamond handing’—a slang term for investors who refrain from selling an investment despite downturns or losses—your NFTs, along with your personal net worth and portfolio.
A ‘Coin Digger’ feature additionally allows non-BAYC owners to connect with higher net worth individuals for “mutual benefits.”
While the Lonely Ape Dating Club currently has a waitlist where you can sign up for early access—with your email, wallet address and gender—the impact of the matchmaking app remain to be seen. Will it really be a meaningful place to find love or just another platform for blockchain bros and crypto queens to argue which NFT makes a better long-term investment?
