Microsoft has come out with a new digital collectibles initiative in collaboration with the Enjin blockchain project. The initiative is called Azure Heroes, and it is meant as a show of appreciation for users who make valuable contributions to the community surrounding Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform. Contributors will be rewarded with badges, which are actually non-fungible tokens functioning on the Ethereum blockchain.

At launch, the Azure Heroes badges are only available in “selected Western European countries”.

Once earned, the badges can be accessed in Enjin’s cryptocurrency wallet. Currently, five distinct badges have been created, with each having a different supply. Users can earn different badges depending on their contributions – there’s a badge for content creators, meetup and workshop organizers, users who create initiatives targeted at under-represented communities, and others.

Non-fungible tokens

Ethereum-based non-fungible tokens are usually associated with the ERC-721 standard. However, Microsoft has opted for the ERC-1155 standard, which was originally developed by Enjin and became available for use to the wider Ethereum community earlier this year. On its website, Microsoft explains:

“NFT’s are ideal for the minting and issuance of badges which have a unique set of parameters. We chose to use the ERC1155 token which has unique properties which allows its metadata to be modified over time and is the new accepted standard for minting both fungible and non-fungible assets on the public Ethereum platform.”

The news has sparked a speculative frenzy surrounding ENJ, the Ethereum-based token created by Enjin. ENJ has seen a dramatic price surge, and is up +56% in the last 24 hours. The token, which has a market cap of $74.7 million, is currently approaching the $0.1 price level.