CNN Is Getting Into The NFT Game By Selling Historic News Moments That You Can Physically Own

In a sign of the ever-growing prevalence of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, CNN will soon be selling collectible tokens of its historic news coverage from over the decades. The collection is called “Vault by CNN,” and it will launch later this month with an assortment of “moments” that will be revealed at a later date.

While NFTs are notoriously complicated and mostly center around bragging rights to owning a digital item, CNN is clearing both of those hurdles. Right off the bat, Vault by CNN users will be able to pay by credit card instead of going through the convoluted process of obtaining cryptocurrency, which is typically how NFTs are purchased. On top of that, Vault will also offer users the option to physically own their CNN moment and actually display it offline. Via THR:

In a FAQ about the service, CNN explains the rationale to launch the “Vault”: “Until now, there has been no way to ‘collect’ these moments. Users can often find old footage online, or packaged up in documentaries, but they cannot ‘own’ them or display them in the way they can with a print newspaper or magazine.”

While some users questioned the ethics of selling off historic moments like, for example, the falling of the Berlin Wall (and, man, the concerns about a 9/11 NFT are racking up), other people on social media chimed in with the “classic” CNN moments they’d loved to see converted into a non-fungible token. For posterity.

https://twitter.com/CannotHaveSex/status/1405255455891410948

https://twitter.com/JoePrettyman/status/1405252674497384450

https://twitter.com/walkoffhbp/status/1405249715663372295

https://twitter.com/CamBNewton/status/1405250046560456707

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)