CNN Announces Abrupt Shutdown of 'Vault' NFT Marketplace, Users Call It a 'Rug Pull'

CNN, the popular TV news channel and digital media outlet, will no longer continue its non-fungible token (NFT) and Web3 project announced in the summer of 2021. The company confirmed this in a statement on Monday, saying, "we have decided that it's time to say goodbye to Vault by CNN," the Web3 project in question. CNN initially launched the project as a six-week experiment of issuing digital collectables or NFTs of exclusive historical moments and new stories. However, the scope of Vault was later expanded amid engagement and support from the community.

"The Vault team is honoured to have partnered with amazing journalists, producers, artists, photojournalists, and collectors from all over the world during our time together, but we have decided that it's time to say goodbye to Vault by CNN," the company said in a statement.

CNN added that the Discord channel would be closed by the end of October. However, the Vault's website and NFTs already collected by users will continue to be live (on Flow blockchain), and collectors will be compensated.

"While we will no longer be developing or maintaining this community, the Vault NFT collection will live on," CNN added. "To thank the thousands of collectors who joined us in this experiment, we are committed to compensating wallets that own Vault NFTs."

Meanwhile, the community appears to be rattled by the announcement, to the extent some of the collectors are accusing CNN of a "rug pull." As per a CoinTelegraph report, a CNN staff member in the 'Vault' Discord mentioned that users involved in the NFT program will be compensated in one way or another. He noted that users who bought NFTs would be compensated with stablecoins or another token.

The staff mentioned that details are being worked on but stressed that the company would only pay 20 percent of the mint price for each NFT back to those that bought them. He mentioned that the Vault marketplace would continue functioning, and the collections would remain valuable.