<p>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.</p><h2 id="header-0">Was it fraudulent?</h2><p>As fans of the news outlet began <a href="https://nftandgamefi.com/2022/03/24/rug-pull-nft-projects/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">accusations of a rug pull</a>, CNN fired back by stating, “the Vault NFT collection will live on.” However, collectors aren’t happy as many believe that the ultimate value for these NFTs will be worthless due to the discontinuation of the project by CNN.</p><p>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.</p><p>The legacy media company ensured that fans would be able to enjoy a whole list of benefits, pairing utility with these <a href="https://nftandgamefi.com/2022/10/19/restaurants-use-nfts/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">digital collectibles</a>. Some of these benefits include special tokengated articles, invitations to gallery events, and the ability for collectors to mint their own CNN article NFT, just to name a few.</p><p>With a clear roadmap, many collectors feel that CNN was transparent about their intentions – until they weren’t.</p><h2 id="header-1">Community reaction</h2><p>This decision has caused quite a stir in the crypto community as many are wondering whether or not this is a case of poor management, or if the company was just trying to cash in on the recent <a href="https://nftandgamefi.com/2022/06/22/dappradar-report-shows-prominent-nft-collections-seeing-a-40-increase-amidst-a-harsh-bear-market/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">NFT craze</a>.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>This news comes as a shock to the <a href="https://nftandgamefi.com/2022/05/31/hacker-steals-world-of-solana-nfts-community-scams-him-back/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">crypto community</a>, as CNN was one of the first mainstream media companies to experiment with NFTs. It will be interesting to see how other traditional companies react to this news and if they too will pull the plug on their NFT programs.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>Overall, this move was detrimental to the growth of the NFT industry and has left a sour taste in the mouths of many.</p><h2 id="header-2">Partial refunds</h2><p>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.</p><p>“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.”</p><h3 id="final-thoughts">Final thoughts</h3><p>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.</p>

CNN is accused of rug pulling its Vault NFT program

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