Proof Collective Cancels Conference, Ruffling Moonbirds NFT Holders

Organizers of Proof Collective’s Proof of Conference event canceled the event planned for May, citing “significantly less interest than expected,” according to the event’s website.

Proof is a Web3 project created by Digg co-founder Kevin Rose. It’s the collective behind Moonbirds, a collection of 10,000 pixelated owls NFTs. Moonbirds is the tenth largest Ethereum NFT project by market cap in the space, according to CoinGecko data.

“As you know, in the NFT world, timing is everything,” the Note from Proof founder Kevin Rose and his team read. “Today is the time for us to recognize that right now is not the right time for the evidence at the conference.”

Ticket buyers will be refunded “within the next few hours,” according to the post, but traders will keep their NFT receipt for the canceled event. Proof also promises that hotels booked with the discounts will be refunded in full, and that flight cancellations that incur cancellation fees can be sent to Proof for a refund.

“All other expense requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis,” Proof’s website reader.

Rose also said in a Discord post that a more “holistic” update on the future of Proof and its Ethereum NFT collection Moonbirds will be released on March 2.

“This is our year of focus and execution,” Rose wrote.

The Moonbirds team held a “town hall” meeting on its Discord server exclusively for holders on Monday, which members say didn’t give them much clarity or comfort.

“They say empty air,” said Edward “Eddie” Kayal, an NYU graduate and NFT trader. Decrypt in a direct message about City Hall’s proceedings.

Kayal explained that the Proof team told its listeners that only about a hundred people bought hotels through Proof’s links, leading the Web3 firm to believe there wasn’t enough interest in the conference – despite the fact that others may have booked accommodation outside.

Angry birds

Many in the Moonbirds community now lack confidence in the team’s plans and promises. In response to the news, some NFT traders said they were going to sell their Moonbird NFTs.

“Yes, I’m looking for a reasonable exit on my bird,” Kayal explained in a post.

In Moonbird’s Discord, which can only be accessed by verified Moonbird holders, at least twelve different holders expressed their disbelief at both the event’s cancellation and Rose’s team, per screenshots seen by Decrypt.

“They say absolutely nothing of substance,” said one Moonbirds keeper.

“Don’t accept your apology…too many missteps!” said another holder.

“This can’t be real,” said a third.

Others dealt with it by posting “Harry Potter” memes depicting a skeleton as a Moonbirds holder, with the joke that the dead holder “trusted KRO”, an alias for Rose’s name.

While some Moonbird holders may be looking for a quick exit, data shows there hasn’t been a dramatic rush to sell yet. Only 51 Moonbird holders unstaked their NFTs after the news broke, according to Proof’s “nesting” datawhich tracks the total number of locked NFTs in the collection.

A net total of 47 NFTs were unstaked and four were staked or “nested”, with the total number of “nesting” NFTs falling from 9,141 to 9,094 over a two-hour period. Staked Birds gives owners rewards for unlocking their NFT and essentially “holding” the asset.

Representatives for Moonbirds and Rose have yet to respond Decrypttheir requests for comment.