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Coachella NFTs inaccessible after FTX collapse

The cryptocurrency exchange, which filed for bankruptcy last week, partnered with Coachella and Belgium's Tomorrowland earlier this year

By James Hanley on 21 Nov 2022

Le Grande Wheel, Coachella 2014, Thomas Hawk

Coachella


image © Thomas Hawk

Purchasers of Coachella are currently unable to access their tokens in the wake of the collapse of global cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

FTX filed for bankruptcy last week, with “king of crypto” Sam Bankman-Fried also stepping down as CEO.

Coachella partnered with the platform earlier this year to auction off 10 lifetime passes as part of a non-fungible token (NFT) series that sold for a combined $1.5 million (€1.3m). The ‘Coachella Keys’ collection grants admission to the 125,000-cap festival in Indio, California every year, along with a unique experience.

According to Billboard, anyone who kept their NFT on FTX is currently unable to access them.

“We’re actively working on solutions and are confident we’ll be able to protect the interests of Coachella’s NFT holders”

“We’re actively working on solutions and are confident we’ll be able to protect the interests of Coachella’s NFT holders,” says Coachella innovation lead Sam Schoonover.

FTX – which also partnered with Belgium’s Tomorrowland – owes its 50 largest creditors almost $3.1 billion (€3bn), according to a court filing.

Decrypt reports that users in Coachella’s Discord server are unable to transfer their NFTs out from their FTX wallets, with others saying their NFTs held in their self-custody wallets aren’t displaying artwork.

The publication notes that, unlike many marketplaces, FTX NFTs was a custodial platform, meaning it held purchased NFTs for buyers unless they opted to transfer it to an external wallet.

“Our priority is getting Coachella NFTs off of FTX, which appears to be disabled at the moment”

Writing on the festival’s Discord server last Friday, a Coachella server administrator said: “Like many of you, we have been watching the news unfold online over the past few days and are shocked by the outcome.

“We do not currently have any lines of communication with the FTX team. We have assembled an internal team to come up with solutions based on the tools we have access to. Our priority is getting Coachella NFTs off of FTX, which appears to be disabled at the moment.”

 


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