Blockchain in a Supermarket: CryptoShopee by NTI Loyalty

NTI Loyalty and ATB supermarket chain are running an NFT game called CryptoShopee, inviting shoppers to create virtual characters and compete for ₴1 million.

The grand prize will go to the first player who generates a unique digital hero with all the required attributes. The total prize pool is ₴2 million, so apart from the main prize participants can claim other rewards.

The promotion spans more than 1 280 ATB stores nationwide and runs until 12 August 2025.

How to Play?

CryptoShopee is part of the retailer’s loyalty programme. To join the game, all you need to do is shop at ATB. For every receipt worth at least ₴100, customers may pay an extra ₴3 to buy a promo sachet containing a character card and a QR code that lets them register the hero in the game.

After receiving the card, the player scans the QR code and adds the new character to their digital collection in the ATB app. The starter collection includes 36 original heroes.

Each hero has a set of attributes—eyes, mouth, ears, head, torso, arms, legs—and belongs to one of three “races”: mythical creatures, animals, or aliens.

With every new generation, the chance of obtaining an Arcana—a rare upgraded attribute—increases, allowing players to create unique beings with unmatched combinations of traits.

The game also involves interaction between users. There is a dedicated Telegram channel where players can trade characters with one another.

How to Win?

The main goal is to experiment with combinations and breed a character that possesses a specific list of attributes, five of which are rare Arcanas. The target hero is displayed on the game’s main screen as a reference for all participants. Whoever creates this character first will earn the top prize of ₴1 million.

If no one manages to create a hero with the required attributes by 12 August 2025, the winner will be chosen at random between all participants.

Additionally, the organisers regularly announce interim challenges with extra prizes totalling ₴1 million, such as assembling the full set of the original 36 Shopees or scanning the highest number of QR codes from physical character cards.

At the time of publication, the fourth interim contest is under way with a prize fund of ₴250 000. The task is to make a purchase in the app’s Market section. On 5 August, 10 winners will be randomly selected from the list of participants who meet the conditions.

Blockchain Behind the Scenes

Every Shopee in the game is a non‑fungible token (NFT) recorded on a distributed ledger. The platform is built on the Polygon EVM network, which provides the speed and low fees required for mass NFT use. As a result, each virtual hero has a unique owner and a verifiable value.

CryptoShopee launched in summer 2024 as a pilot project in Lviv. After successful testing, the game was scaled to the entire chain.

The developer of CryptoShopee is a Ukrainian company NTI Loyalty, which specialises in gamification, blockchain solutions, and personalised marketing for retail businesses. Polygon supplies the infrastructure for minting and accounting for the NFT characters, while Bitget exchange acts as the crypto partner.

The developers made sure that interacting with NFTs is almost invisible to the user: all complex operations occur under the hood, while players see only the friendly game interface. Thus, blockchain is used as an underlying technology and not an end goal in itself.

“This is not our first experience engaging with the crypto community, but it is the first project where blockchain is used strictly as a technology. As a company, we strive to be at the forefront of tech adoption in retail, setting trends rather than following them. This project is innovative not only for Ukraine but also for global retail. We thank all partners and especially ATB for their willingness to take bold steps toward the future,” said NTI Loyalty CEO and founder Kostiantyn Melnykov.

According to the developers, once the promotion ends, users will be allowed to connect their own crypto wallets and withdraw the generated NFTs to external marketplaces, letting their favourite character leave the app and continue existing in the broader crypto world.

Shopping Gamified

The idea behind CryptoShopee is to turn the routine process of shopping into an engaging game. Buyers simultaneously shop, play, compete with others, and get a chance to win prizes.

The project also has an educational mission—to introduce modern digital technologies to a wide audience. According to the Chainalysis’ 2024 report, Ukraine ranks sixth in the world for cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption, yet for many people these concepts remain abstract.

CryptoShopee allows users to interact with blockchain technologies through a friendly interface and to experience firsthand how NFTs, digital wallets, and asset exchanges work.