In only what’s described as a “six-week experiment”, CNN has decided to cut its ties with its NFT program entitled, “The Vault”. After only a few weeks, CNN is no longer funding or developing its NFT platform and collectors are furious despite their NFTs being immutable on the blockchain.
Was it fraudulent?
A rug pull is a fraudulent scheme where a project appears to be successful but is ultimately abandoned, leaving investors and collectors high and dry.
With a clear roadmap, many collectors feel that CNN was transparent about their intentions – until they weren’t.
Community reaction
After all, as a company that is set to earn $1 billion in profits in the fiscal year of 2022, it’s not surprising that they would want to get in on the action.
Despite the money flowing into the NFT industry during the lifespan of “The Vault”, the revenue generated was still minuscule compared to the firm’s overall profit. In the end, it seems as though CNN just didn’t see the value in continuing to develop its NFT program.
The network has not given any official reasons as to why they are discontinuing the program, but many in the community are beginning to wonder if this was all just a money grab by the news outlet. Only time will tell, but for now, it looks like CNN is out of the NFT game.
While the community anticipates further news, hoping that an explanation will be given soon, some are beginning to lose faith in the industry as a whole. With so many projects popping up and then being abandoned, it’s hard to trust that any of them will stick around for the long haul.
Overall, this move was detrimental to the growth of the NFT industry and has left a sour taste in the mouths of many.
Partial refunds
Despite the poor sentiments in the market, many have not opted for the partial refund that CNN is offering. Likely because the refund offerings “are a joke,” one discord member claims. The admin of the Vault Discord channel mentioned in a message that they will be offering the refund as either Flow or stablecoins and at only 20% of the original cost.
“75% or higher. I will reach out to my lawyer this week. The six-week experiment was never conveyed to us.” discredits another Discord user as legal action is threatened. This is bad news for CNN as the community is already planning to come after them for what they feel is a breach of trust as the roadmap stretched longer than the excuse of a “six-week experiment.”
Final thoughts
The situation is still unfolding, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out for both CNN and the NFT industry as a whole. For now, it seems as though the community is not happy with the way things have played out and are demanding more from the network.