Ship or Die at Accelerate 2025: Lightning Talk: Chipped

In a groundbreaking presentation at Accelerate 2025, Leah Winberg, known online as Winnie, unveiled Tapstack - a revolutionary infrastructure for wearable wallets and seamless digital payments built on Solana. This innovative platform promises to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds, transforming everyday items into powerful tools for value exchange and social connection.

Summary

Leah Winberg, founder of Chipped and co-founder of Tapstack, delivered an electrifying lightning talk at Accelerate 2025, introducing two game-changing projects in the Solana ecosystem. Chipped, already making waves in the fashion and tech industries, offers microchip-enabled press-on nails that allow users to share social media profiles with a simple tap.

Building on the success of Chipped, Winberg announced Tapstack - a comprehensive infrastructure layer designed to revolutionize how we interact with physical objects and exchange value in the real world. Tapstack aims to turn everyday items, from event wristbands to merchandise, into programmable wallets and touch points for rewards, payments, and social connections.

The presentation highlighted the current disconnect between crypto innovations and real-world consumer needs. Winberg emphasized the importance of creating solutions that feel native, fun, and social, while also providing tangible value to users. Tapstack's vision extends beyond simple payments, aiming to transform physical interactions into meaningful value exchanges and persistent channels for connection and culture.

Key Points:

Chipped: Microchip Manicures

Chipped has gained significant traction in both the tech and fashion worlds. The company offers press-on nails embedded with microchips that allow users to share their social media profiles by tapping their nail to another person's phone. This innovative product has been featured in prestigious publications and events, including Forbes, New York Fashion Week, and collaborations with major players in the Web3 space such as Solana, Polygon, and World of Women.

The success of Chipped has not only showcased the potential for wearable tech but has also played a crucial role in redefining femininity in the tech industry. By bridging the gap between fashion and technology, Chipped has created a unique platform for women and allies to engage with cutting-edge tech in a way that feels natural and empowering.

Tapstack: Infrastructure for the Real World

Tapstack represents the next evolution in Winberg's vision for connected, value-driven physical interactions. This comprehensive infrastructure layer aims to enable connections, rewards, and payments for real consumers through singular touch points. The platform is designed to work with existing NFC-enabled devices and products, creating a seamless system for value exchange in everyday situations.

Winberg highlighted the current limitations in the crypto space, where innovations often fail to address real-world consumer needs. Tapstack aims to change this by enabling users to make payments and exchange value using wearable tech and everyday items, from event wristbands to branded merchandise. This approach not only simplifies transactions but also creates persistent channels for connection and engagement.

Revolutionizing Merchandise and Brand Engagement

One of Tapstack's key innovations is its approach to merchandise and brand engagement. Rather than treating branded items as disposable marketing tools, Tapstack turns them into persistent channels for connection, value, and culture. This transformation makes merchandise the beginning of a relationship with users, rather than the end.

By integrating rewards and personalized experiences into physical items, Tapstack aims to create products that users view as extensions of their identity. This approach not only increases the perceived value of merchandise but also encourages repeated use and engagement, creating a more sustainable and meaningful connection between brands and consumers.

Modular Rewards Engine and Cross-Ecosystem Value

Tapstack's infrastructure includes a modular rewards engine that allows brands and protocols to easily plug into the system. This feature enables users to earn rewards in one ecosystem and unlock value in another, creating a network effect that benefits both users and participating brands.

The platform's flexibility and interoperability have the potential to revolutionize how rewards and loyalty programs function across different industries and ecosystems. By breaking down silos between different brands and experiences, Tapstack could create a more fluid and valuable rewards landscape for consumers.

Facts + Figures

• Chipped has been featured in Forbes, New York Fashion Week, Sabiety, and High Bay
• Paris Hilton has worn Chipped nails
• Chipped has collaborated with major Web3 players including Solana, INS, Polygon, Shify, and World of Women
• The crypto industry spends over $100 million annually on merchandise
• Tapstack aims to turn everyday items into programmable wallets and touch points
• The platform integrates with existing NFC-enabled devices and products
• Tapstack includes a modular rewards engine that allows for cross-ecosystem value exchange
• The company has built a world-class supply chain to support the production of wearable tech products

Top quotes

1. "We've been redefining femininity for women in tech."
2. "Can I pay with my nails? And the answer was always no. Well, not yet."
3. "We're still building for crypto and not for consumer. And that's wild, right?"
4. "We're turning every physical interaction into a value exchange and doing it in a way that feels native, fun, and most importantly, social."
5. "Instead of the merchandise being the end of the relationship, we're making it the beginning."
6. "This isn't just about tap to pay, points gamification, or collecting empty digital badges. It's about building emotional and functional value into the things we're already wearing."
7. "We're making it easy for any brand and any protocol to plug in."
8. "It's not just marketing, it's infrastructure."

Questions Answered

What is Chipped?

Chipped is a company that produces microchip-enabled press-on nails. These nails allow users to share their social media profiles by simply tapping their nail to another person's phone. Chipped has gained significant recognition in both the tech and fashion industries, featuring in major publications and events like Forbes and New York Fashion Week.

What problem is Tapstack trying to solve?

Tapstack aims to address the disconnect between crypto innovations and real-world consumer needs. It provides infrastructure for connections, rewards, and payments through everyday items and wearable tech. The platform enables users to make transactions and exchange value in real-world situations using NFC-enabled devices, addressing the limitation of current crypto solutions that often fail to cater to practical consumer use cases.

How does Tapstack change the way we think about merchandise?

Tapstack transforms merchandise from disposable marketing tools into persistent channels for connection, value, and culture. By integrating rewards and personalized experiences into physical items, Tapstack aims to create products that users see as extensions of their identity. This approach increases the perceived value of merchandise and encourages repeated use and engagement, fostering a more meaningful and sustainable connection between brands and consumers.

What is the modular rewards engine in Tapstack?

The modular rewards engine is a key feature of Tapstack that allows brands and protocols to easily integrate with the system. This engine enables users to earn rewards in one ecosystem and unlock value in another, creating a network effect that benefits both users and participating brands. The flexibility and interoperability of this system have the potential to revolutionize how rewards and loyalty programs function across different industries and ecosystems.

How does Tapstack integrate with existing technology?

Tapstack is designed to work with existing NFC-enabled devices and products. This means that the platform can leverage technology that is already present in many items, such as phones, wristbands, and other wearables. By building on existing infrastructure, Tapstack aims to create a seamless system for value exchange that can be quickly adopted and integrated into various consumer products and experiences.