Memberships & Subscriptions

Memberships are the deepest form of engagement between a brand and its users. A voucher is a single interaction. A loyalty card tracks repeat behavior. But a membership is a relationship. It says: you belong here, you have access, you matter to us.

Today, memberships live in centralized databases controlled entirely by the issuing brand. If the brand changes platforms, your membership history disappears. If the app shuts down, your status evaporates. If you want to prove your VIP status to a partner brand, there's no verifiable way to do it. And for the brand, managing tiers, renewals, expirations, and benefits across systems is an operational headache.

bonuz Membership DNFTs turn memberships into owned, verifiable, on-chain assets. The user holds their membership in their wallet. The brand controls the rules, tiers, and benefits. The state lives on-chain. And because the membership exists in the bonuz graph, it becomes portable: other brands and apps in the ecosystem can recognize and reward your status (with your permission).

How Memberships Work

A Membership DNFT is a stateful on-chain asset that represents an ongoing relationship between a user and a brand. It carries metadata (tier, benefits, expiry, custom data), evolves over time (tier upgrades, renewals, benefit changes), and serves as a verifiable credential across the bonuz ecosystem.

Unlike vouchers (consumed on use) or punchcards (reset after redemption), memberships are persistent. They stay in the user's wallet, evolving as the relationship deepens. A Silver member becomes Gold. A monthly subscription renews. Benefits unlock and change over time. The DNFT reflects it all.

Apple Wallet & Google Wallet

Membership DNFTs can be added to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, giving users instant access to their membership status from their phone's native wallet. The pass displays the current tier, expiry date (for subscriptions), and key benefit summary. Staff at physical venues can scan the pass directly for verification. State changes like tier upgrades, renewals, and expirations sync automatically, so the pass always reflects the current membership state. For users, their membership card sits right next to their boarding passes and payment cards, exactly where they expect it.

Types of Memberships

Brands configure memberships through the Brand Dashboard (app.bonuz.market):

Tiered Membership. The classic model. Multiple levels (Silver, Gold, Platinum, or any custom naming) with different benefits at each tier. Users progress through tiers based on engagement, spend, or time. The DNFT state updates automatically when tier thresholds are crossed.

Time-Bound Subscription. Access to benefits for a defined period: monthly, quarterly, annual, or custom duration. The DNFT tracks the subscription window and automatically transitions to expired when the period ends. Renewals mint a state update, not a new DNFT.

Lifetime Membership. No expiry. Once issued, the membership is permanent. Common for founding members, early supporters, or premium one-time purchases. The DNFT remains active indefinitely.

Access-Based Membership. Membership that unlocks specific access: a community, a content library, a physical space, exclusive events, or premium features within an app. The DNFT acts as the access key. Token gating reads the membership state to grant or deny access.

Paid Membership. Memberships don't have to be earned or gifted. They can be sold. A brand can price membership tiers and sell them directly through the bonuz ecosystem. The purchase mints the membership DNFT to the buyer's wallet. Renewals can be handled as recurring purchases or automatic extensions.

Multi-Use Membership. A membership that includes a set number of uses or entries. "10-visit gym pass" or "5 co-working day passes per month." Each use decrements the counter. Can be combined with time-bound expiry (unused visits expire at month end).

Custom Data & Brand-Specific Storage

Membership DNFTs support custom metadata fields beyond the standard bonuz schema. This means brands can write additional data into a user's membership that is specific to their business logic.

For example: a fitness brand might store the user's preferred workout type and home gym location. A hospitality group might store room preferences and dietary requirements. A media company might store content preferences and viewing history flags. This custom data lives on the DNFT and travels with the user, readable by the brand at any touchpoint.

For larger brands with unique operational requirements, bonuz offers custom dashboard configurations. While the standard Brand Dashboard covers the majority of use cases, enterprise partners may need specialized views, custom analytics, unique workflow integrations, or branded interfaces that match their existing systems. bonuz is flexible here. The underlying DNFT technology and protocol rails remain the same, but the dashboard layer can be tailored to fit the brand's specific needs, whether that's a fully custom interface or extensions built on top of the standard dashboard via the bonuz SDK.

Creating a Membership Program

Through the Brand Dashboard:

Select the membership template. Choose between tiered, subscription, lifetime, access-based, paid, or multi-use models.

Define tiers and benefits. For tiered memberships, set the tier names, progression rules (engagement-based, spend-based, time-based, or manual), and the specific benefits each tier unlocks. Benefits can include discount voucher DNFTs, exclusive access passes, priority service, or any custom perk the brand defines.

Set pricing (if applicable). For paid memberships, define the price per tier, payment methods accepted, and whether renewals are automatic or manual.

Configure expiry and renewal. For time-bound subscriptions, set the duration and renewal mechanics. Options include auto-renewal (state updates on payment), grace period (brief window after expiry before benefits are revoked), and downgrade rules (what happens when a subscription lapses: full revocation, tier downgrade, or freeze).

Add custom data fields. Define any additional metadata the brand wants to store on the membership DNFT. These fields are writable by the brand and readable at any touchpoint.

Choose distribution. Memberships can be issued on first engagement, sold through a campaign, distributed via QR/NFC, gifted by the brand, or earned as a reward from another DNFT campaign (e.g., completing a loyalty punchcard mints a membership upgrade).

Launch and manage. Track active members, tier distribution, renewal rates, churn, and engagement per tier through the dashboard. For enterprise partners, custom analytics can be configured to match internal reporting needs.

The State Machine

Membership DNFTs have a rich lifecycle that reflects the ongoing nature of the relationship:

Issued → The membership is created and assigned to the user's wallet. Initial state: base tier, active subscription window, or initial access level.

Active → The membership is live. The user has access to their tier's benefits. For subscriptions, the clock is running. For tiered memberships, engagement is accumulating toward the next tier.

Tier Upgraded → The user crosses a tier threshold. The DNFT metadata updates to reflect the new tier (Silver → Gold), and the new tier's benefits become active. Previous tier benefits may be retained or replaced, depending on the brand's configuration.

Tier Downgraded (optional) → For brands that enforce activity requirements, a user who falls below a threshold can be downgraded. The DNFT state reflects the change. Some brands use a grace period before downgrade kicks in.

Renewal Pending → For time-bound subscriptions approaching expiry. The user is prompted to renew. A grace period may apply.

Renewed → Subscription renewed. The expiry date extends. The DNFT state updates without creating a new asset. Continuous history in one DNFT.

Expired → Time-bound memberships that pass their expiry without renewal. Benefits are revoked. The DNFT remains in the wallet as a historical record and can be reactivated if the brand supports re-enrollment.

Suspended / Frozen → For brands that allow membership pauses (e.g., gym memberships during travel). The DNFT state freezes. Benefits are paused. Timer stops. Resumes when the user or brand reactivates.

Verification & Anti-Fraud

On-chain membership status. Any brand touchpoint (app, website, physical venue) can verify a user's membership state by reading the DNFT on-chain. No API calls to a central database that might be down. The blockchain is the source of truth.

Token gating. Access to member-only content, events, communities, or features is gated by the presence and state of the membership DNFT. If the DNFT is active and the tier matches, access is granted. If it's expired or the tier is insufficient, access is denied. Enforced automatically.

Transfer controls. Memberships are typically soul-bound (non-transferable) to prevent resale of status. However, brands can configure transferability for specific use cases (e.g., a corporate membership that can be reassigned between employees). Configurable per program.

Expiry enforcement. Time-bound memberships expire automatically on-chain. No manual revocation needed. No "forgot to cancel" scenarios where expired members retain access because the system wasn't updated.

What Memberships Unlock

Verifiable status. A user's membership tier is provable to any permissioned app or brand in the bonuz ecosystem. No screenshots of "Gold Member" emails. No claiming status that can't be verified. The DNFT is the proof.

Cross-brand perks. The most powerful unlock. Because membership status lives in the bonuz graph, partner brands can offer perks to each other's members. A Gold member at a hotel chain gets priority seating at partner restaurants. A premium member at a fitness brand gets discounted access at a wellness spa. Memberships become part of a larger value network.

Community access. Memberships can gate access to on-chain and off-chain communities: Telegram groups, Discord servers, exclusive content libraries, or member-only events. The bonuz Lifestyle Wallet and SDK handle the gating logic.

Benefit automation. Tier upgrades can automatically trigger downstream actions: reaching Gold issues a welcome voucher DNFT, unlocks access to an exclusive event pass, or activates a discount on all future purchases. The Engagement Protocol chains these together without manual intervention.

Retention data. Brands get granular visibility into membership health: active vs. churned, tier progression velocity, renewal rates, benefit utilization. Data that drives retention strategy instead of guesswork.

Real-World Examples

Restaurant VIP program. A fine dining group sells 3 membership tiers: Silver ($50/year, priority reservations), Gold ($150/year, priority + complimentary appetizer per visit), Platinum ($500/year, priority + chef's table access + exclusive tasting events). Users purchase through the bonuz ecosystem. The membership DNFT activates immediately. Staff verify membership tier by scanning the user's wallet at check-in. Benefits are applied automatically.

Gym subscription. A fitness studio issues monthly subscription membership DNFTs. The DNFT includes 20 class credits per month. Each check-in (NFC tap at the studio) decrements the counter. Unused credits expire at month end. Renewal extends the membership and resets the counter. Users who maintain 6+ consecutive months automatically upgrade to a "Committed Member" tier with bonus perks.

Creator community. A content creator sells a paid membership that grants access to exclusive content, a private community, and monthly virtual events. Holders of the membership DNFT get token-gated access to a members-only section in the bonuz Lifestyle Wallet. The creator sees subscriber count, retention, and engagement data in their dashboard.

Corporate membership. A co-working space issues company-level memberships with 10 transferable day passes per month. The parent membership DNFT is held by the company admin, who can distribute individual day pass DNFTs to employees. Each pass is single-use and time-bound. The co-working space tracks utilization by company and adjusts pricing or capacity accordingly.

Loyalty-to-membership pipeline. A retail brand's loyalty program automatically upgrades users who reach 50 purchases to a free "Insider" membership. The loyalty punchcard DNFT triggers the membership DNFT issuance through the Engagement Protocol. No manual enrollment. The user opens their wallet and the membership is there, with immediate access to Insider perks.

Why On-Chain Memberships Matter

Traditional memberships are one-directional: the brand controls everything, the user owns nothing. If the brand changes systems, memberships need to be migrated (often losing history). If the brand shuts down, the membership disappears entirely. And proving your member status to anyone other than the issuing brand is basically impossible.

On-chain memberships through bonuz flip this. Users own their membership. Brands control the rules. The protocol enforces the logic. And the entire ecosystem can recognize the relationship. That's not just a digital membership card. It's a portable, verifiable, composable credential that makes every interaction between brands and users more valuable.