Buyers of Coachella’s lifetime pass NFTs are unable to access their tokens due to the ongoing crash of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
Coachella auctioned off ten festival lifetime passes in February of this year. As part of a collaboration with the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, the ‘Coachella Keys’ were distributed as NFTs. The lifetime passes were worth USD 1.5 million (£1.2 million GBP) and were part of the Coachella Collectables NFT product line.
The exchange FTX declared bankruptcy earlier this month, putting the status of these assets in doubt. The owners of the digital hub, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, blamed its demise on a “severe liquidity crisis,” rendering thousands of users unable to access their NFTs.
According to Billboard, many Coachella lifetime passes appear to be stuck on the defunct exchange. According to a Coachella representative, the platform “appears to be disabled at the moment,” while a collector stated that he was only able to add the Coachella Key to his wallet because he withdrew it from FTX in the days before the crash. Those who abandoned their passes on the exchange would no longer be able to use them.
Coachella’s innovation lead, Sam Schoonover, told Billboard, “We’re actively working on solutions and are confident we’ll be able to protect the interests of Coachella’s NFT holders.”
“Like many of you, we have been watching this news unfold online over the past few days and are shocked by the outcome,” An employee wrote on the festival’s Discord server.
“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”.
Coachella Collectibles were announced before the festival, which took place this year from April 15-17 and 22-24, and gave collectors the “opportunity to own lifetime festival passes, unlock unique on-site experiences, physical items and digital collectibles”.
Coachella was one of several music festivals this year to incorporate NFT experiences, with Tomorrowland, EXIT, and Ozzfest also utilizing the format in some capacity.
According to a four-star NME review, this year’s Coachella lineup included Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Flume, Megan Thee Stallion, Disclosure, 21 Savage, and Phoebe Bridgers. Frank Ocean has been confirmed as the headlining act for next year’s edition, which will take place in June, with dates set for the festival’s traditional two-weekend run in April.
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