China gets state-backed NFT marketplace on New Year’s Day
China is launching a state-backed NFT marketplace with secondary trading on the first day of 2023, according to local reports. The “China Digital Asset Trading Platform” will be launched by two state-backed entities and a private firm Huaban Digital Copyright Service Center, which will allow users to register their digital assets and apply for copyright protection services.
New NFT Marketplace that allows users to register digital assets and apply for copyright protection
Chinese private firm Huaban Digital Copyright Service Center and state-backed entities are set to launch a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace on January 1, 2023, according to a report by China Daily. The two state-backed entities behind the marketplace are China Technology Exchange and Art Exhibition China.
The move comes after the new marketplace, dubbed the “China Digital Asset Trading Platform,” acquired a compliance license from the China Technology Exchange to offer NFT and digital copyright trading services. The platform allows institutional and individual users to register their digital assets and submit requests for copyright protection services.
The platform, which will also offer secondary trading services, was built on the Wenbao Chain – a blockchain network managed by Art Exhibition China. Huaban Digital Copyright Service Center CEO Yin Tao said the marketplace could impose specific trading rules to curb speculative activities. The marketplace aims to “regulate and avoid excessive speculation in secondary [NFT] markets,” said a person familiar with the matter.
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China remains interested in Blockchain despite crypto aversion
While NFTs have become popular in China over the past two years, cryptographic tokens have not witnessed as much interest as in the US and the rest of the world. Chinese traders are still unable to buy NFTs via crypto due to the country’s laws. Additionally, they are not even referred to as NFTs, but rather as “digital collectibles.”
Also, these collectibles are currently not traded on open platforms in China. Instead, they can only be bought and sold through closed, highly regulated marketplaces.
The launch of an NFT marketplace comes roughly a year after China banned crypto transactions and vowed to curb speculative NFT trading activities earlier this year. But despite its disapproval of crypto, the world’s second most powerful country retained its interest in blockchain technology.
China has been one of the most active countries in exploring central bank digital currency (CBDC) use cases – a project expanded to several major provinces. Furthermore, China has also operated and explored various metaverse projects, such as the $7.5 billion virtual human industry revealed in August 2022.
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Do you think the new marketplace can significantly drive NFT adoption in China? Let us know in the comments below.
About the author
Tim Fries is the co-founder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate in the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division and is also a co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
