Visionrare pulled its paid NFT startup-share marketplace after a day and refunded buyers

NFT marketplace for fantasy startup investing, where users bid on auctions of synthetic shares of real startups

Users would bid on NFT stand-ins for real startups and compete in fantasy-sports-style leagues on whose portfolio performed best

Visionrare launched an open beta of an NFT marketplace for what it called fantasy startup investing. Users bid in auctions on fake NFT shares of real startups, building quasi-portfolios to compete in leagues on who could build the most profitable one. TechCrunch noted that most of the startups had not given permission.

Within about 24 hours the founders posted a note saying they had underestimated the legal complexities of selling novelty NFT shares in real startups and were temporarily shutting the marketplace and refunding users. Credit card refunds had already been processed, though some might still be pending through Stripe. They said they would relaunch Visionrare in the coming days as a completely free-to-play game with fixed credits, and might later work out whether to add a financial element.

On 2021-10-07 the paid marketplace was closed and refunds issued; the founders said a free-to-play relaunch would follow.

The founders said they underestimated the legal complexities of selling NFT shares of real startups

Most startups listed had not given permission, which fed the backlash

Critics questioned whether the NFTs might be securities and whether the platform invited SEC attention

Switching to free-to-play credits removed the money and lets the game concept continue

Gamifying instruments that look like securities invites regulatory and public pushback fast; a quick refund and pivot to free play limits the fallout.

As of 2021-10-07, the paid marketplace was shut, buyers were refunded, and the team planned a free-to-play relaunch with no financial element for now.