Sending holiday cards is a great way to stay connected with loved ones. Of course, “snail mail” can often be unpredictable, and your message runs the risk of arriving late or not at all. While cards are fungible, they aren’t permanent either, and can be easily lost or accidentally thrown away. 

As a passionate software developer and founder of ArbiLearn, a platform for educating and onboarding new entrants to the Web3 ecosystem, Ibrahim Abdulkarim realized that onchain greeting cards solved for these limitations. This is why he built Festify, a platform for peer-to-peer festive messaging, where users can send digital cards for holidays like Christmas, Eid, Diwali, and more. These cards can be minted by the recipient as NFTs, preserved onchain forever. 

Ibrahim also recognized the importance of identity verification for Festify. With physical holiday cards, you can see your loved one's handwriting and return address, and know they’re truly from the sender. For digital greeting cards, Ibrahim sought to integrate Self’s identity verification solution, so recipients know with certainty who sent their card, while the sender can easily verify without disclosing private information. 

Ibrahim shared his thoughts on the future of digital greeting cards, their potential as a tool for onboarding new entrants to the Web3 ecosystem, and the need for identity verification: 

What inspired you to develop Festify?

Festivals are moments of joy, connection, and celebration. I wanted to create a meaningful way for people to share love and greetings digitally while giving them ownership of those moments. With the rise of NFTs and onchain identity, Festify was born out of a desire to blend cultural tradition with Web3 innovation, making festive greetings more personal, collectible, and secure.

When did you decide identity verification was a core pillar necessary to solve for?

As Festify evolved, I realized that authenticity was key. People want to know who their messages come from, especially when tied to special occasions. Identity verification became crucial not just for security, but to build trust and connection within the platform. It ensures that users aren’t just sending tokens, they’re sending verified, heartfelt greetings from real individuals.

Why did you choose Self for the identity layer?

I chose Self because it provides a seamless and decentralized approach to identity verification. It aligns with Web3’s ethos of user-owned, privacy-preserving identity. Self makes it easy to integrate trusted identity layers without compromising on decentralization, which was a perfect fit for Festify’s values and long-term goals.

What's your vision for the future of Festify?

I envision Festify becoming a go-to platform for meaningful digital celebration in Web3 where anyone, anywhere in the world, can send verified, creative, and collectible messages during special occasions. Beyond festivals, I see Festify expanding into new use cases such as birthday wishes, onchain event invitations, and milestone greetings, all identity-verified, user-owned, and memorable.

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