Proof Collective Cancels Conference, Ruffling Moonbirds NFT Holders

Organizers of the Proof Collective’s Proof of Conference event canceled the event planned for May, citing “considerably less interest than anticipated,” 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 owl NFTs. Moonbirds is the tenth biggest Ethereum NFT project by market cap in the space, according to CoinGecko data.

“As you know, in the world of NFTs, timing is everything,” the note from Proof Founder Kevin Rose and his team reads. “Today, it’s time for us to recognize that right now isn’t the right time for the Proof of Conference.”

Ticket buyers will be refunded “within the next few hours,” according to the post, but traders will retain their receipt NFT for the canceled event. Proof also promises that hotels booked using its discounts will be fully refundable, and that airfare cancellations that incur cancellation fees can be submitted to Proof for refund consideration. 

“Any other expense requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis,” Proof’s website reads. 

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 in its Discord server exclusive to holders Monday, which members say didn’t provide them with much clarity or comfort.

“They’re saying empty air,” Edward “Eddie” Kayal, an NYU grad and NFT trader, told Decrypt in a direct message of the Town Hall’s proceedings. 

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

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. 

“Yeah I'm out just looking for a reasonable exit on my bird,” Kayal explained in a post.

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

“They are saying absolutely nothing substantial,” said one Moonbirds holder.

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

“This can’t be real,” said a third.

Others coped by posting “Harry Potter” memes depicting a skeleton as a Moonbirds holder, with the joke being 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 that there hasn’t been a dramatic rush to sell just yet. Only 51 Moonbird holders unstaked their NFTs after the news broke, according to Proof’s “nesting” data, which tracks the total number of locked-up 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 declining from 9,141 to 9,094 within a two-hour period. Staked Birds provide owners with rewards for locking up their NFT and essentially “hodling” the asset.

Representatives for Moonbirds and Rose have not yet responded to Decrypt’s requests for comment.