CNN TV has decided to shut down the Vault NFT project, a non-fungible token market created by the company, in 2021 as a “six-week trial.” However, the initiative has expanded into a large-scale Web 3.0 project due to the growing demand for NFTs.
But CNN has now reported that it is giving up on developing the NFT marketplace, which sells digital collectibles linked to major news events. As expected, the news caused outrage among users who had spent thousands of dollars on NFTs.
CNN is giving away Vault NFT
Information that CNN will abandon the project was provided by Parker Molloy on his Twitter account earlier this week, as reported by The Verge.
I just saw that CNN announced the end of the weird NFT market where they will be selling NFTs from news stories. pic.twitter.com/UGrozFQQU
– ParkerMolloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 10, 2022
“Just saw that CNN announced the end of the NFT freak market where they will be selling NFT news,” he tweeted.
In the announcement, the news-focused TV station highlighted that it has been an honor to partner with amazing journalists, producers, artists, photojournalists, and collectors from around the world during their time together. They then explain that the Vault was originally only created for six weeks. However, community support and involvement led the company to expand the initiative.
Launching the NFTs into the market last year, CNN reported that the platform would “offer collectors the opportunity to own a piece of history.” When the launch took place, the crypto market as a whole was booming. NFTs, in particular, have become a real “craze” as investors and celebrities have spent millions to acquire digital collectibles and be part of communities.
But that changed in 2022 and the NFT market has fallen dramatically. Faced with this cooling, CNN decided to halt the project. Notably, the company has collected at least R$1.7 million (US$330,000) from NFT sales, as reported by the Press Gazette. CNN reported that while the Vault’s website “changes,” it will still be available for viewing collections and using the marketplace.
CNN accused of ‘pulling the rug’ scam
Society reacted very negatively to the news. Many NFT investors and buyers have accused CNN of “pulling the rug.” This is a scam that occurs when the creators of a project collect money from it and then give it away, and the money escapes.
Reported by The Verge on its Discord channel, CNN said it plans to compensate the “thousands of collectors” who joined the “experiment” with distributions based on the purchase price of the NFTs. According to CNN official “Jason,” the company will distribute FLOW tokens, or stablecoins, to each collector.
“We are currently working on the details. But we expect the distribution value to be around 20% of the original price of each Vault NFT,” Jason said.