NFT Weekly: The Future of Metaverse Innovation in China

Digestible news on the latest developments across the fields of Web3, NFT, blockchain and metaverse in Greater China and beyond, collected for you every week by Pandaily.

This week: Beijing announces two-year plan for metaverse innovation and development, Huobi-backed NFT platform iBox to stop international operations, The Sandbox launches its latest Alpha season and more.

Beijing announces two-year plan for metaverse innovation and development

Last Tuesday, the Beijing Municipal Government announced a two-year (2022-2024) metaverse innovation and development plan, which will require all districts to follow the new rules around Web3 innovation. Cointelegraph first reported the story.

• The plan refers to the metaverse as a new generation of information technology that could drive the internet toward Web3, according to Cointelegraph, citing the government’s announcement.
• The plan will promote the development of metaverse-related industries in Beijing and establish it as a reference city for the digital economy.
• The plan also lays out a few priorities, one of which is the consolidation of industry resources, which includes think tanks, companies in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and blockchain, as well as other entities across the metaverse value chain.
• Another priority is to provide support to the industry at national and municipal level, as well as encouraging leaders in the industry to innovate new technology and business models.
• The plan also sets out the continued development and improvement of digital infrastructure.
• On the content creation side, the Beijing government requires the establishment and standardization of sub-sectors within the metaverse industry, as well as the creation of user-generated content platforms and creator communities.
• Finally, it claims to “strongly support” the development of “secure, stable and trustworthy services for the trading of digital assets.” (Cointelegraph)

Huobi-backed NFT platform iBox to stop overseas operations

Chinese NFT marketplace iBox announced last week that it plans to shut down its overseas operations. Forkast first reported the story.

• iBox is one of the first NFT platforms supported by the Huobi X Center, an incubator program that supports innovative projects in the Web3 and metaverse.
• In a letter addressed to its international users, the NFT platform said it is in the process of “orderly liquidation and exit” due to adjustments in the direction of its core business.
• iBox said that starting September 1, users who bought NFTs from the platform will be refunded the purchase price and should provide screenshots showing their crypto wallet addresses.
• In a separate announcement, Huobi Global wrote:
  • Huobi Global had withdrawn its operations from Mainland China since May 2021, and had completely withdrawn the accounts of users from Mainland China at 16:00 (UTC) 31 December 2021.
  • Through this process, Huobi Global also ended its partnership with iBox, and completed the share transfer on January 14, 2022. At this time, Huobi Global has no shareholdings or business relationships with iBox. (Rejection)

READ MORE:All our previous articles about Huobi!

Shanghai Data Exchange Launches Unexpendable NFTs

Last week, the Shanghai Data Exchange announced the launch of blockchain-based digital assets, without allowing secondary trading. Forkast first reported this story.

• The debut came despite Beijing’s continued crackdown on crypto, which has eliminated all providers of related services, including offshore exchanges.
• Regional governments are also beginning to look at NFTs and the metaverse as a means of boosting the economy, despite official warnings against speculation risks associated with virtual assets.
• The batch of digital assets was issued by Shanghai Data Exchange, along with Chinese footwear manufacturer Warrior, and Bilibili, a video streaming platform popular among Chinese youth. The new NFTs live on the High Energy Chain, a specialized blockchain developed by Bilibili.
• Tokens are given out for free, and each item can be exchanged for a pair of physical shoes, according to an official press release.
• Shanghai Data Exchange was established in November 2021, and is a state-owned institution that offers companies trade in data and related services. (Rejection)

The Sandbox launches the latest Alpha season

The Sandbox, a metaverse platform backed by Hong Kong-based venture capital firm Animoca Brands, is launching Alpha Season 3 for its open metaverse that connects various Lego-like virtual worlds. Venture Beat first reported the story.

• The blockchain-based virtual universe has over 90 different experiences and 100 hours of gameplay available for the new season, according to Sebastien Borget, the company’s Chief Operating Officer.
• The platform currently has four million users who have accessed the wallets, up from two million in March when the company launched Alpha Season 2, the COO noted, adding that virtual land ownership also increased, with close to 22,000 people paying decent money for virtual real property.
• Borget is optimistic about the company’s growth momentum as it works towards building a decentralized virtual metaverse. However, it remains to be seen whether the metaverse concept will be accepted by mainstream users.
• In The Sandbox metaverse, users can create avatars, purchase skins, and participate in music, art, architecture, gaming, and fashion-related activities.
• The company expects Alpha Season 3 to surpass the draw of over 350,000 active users. Ubisoft will make its debut in Season 3. DJ Steve Aoki will also participate as an avatar. (Venture Beat)

READ MORE:All our previous articles on The Sandbox!

Singapore intensifies scrutiny of crypto-related firms

Singapore is stepping up its scrutiny of cryptocurrency-related firms in the city-state ahead of planned regulatory changes. Bloomberg first reported the story.

• The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, has issued a questionnaire to selected applicants and holders of the digital payments license to seek detailed information on their business activity and holdings.
• The questionnaires were sent out last month, and recipients were expected to respond quickly.
• The regulators also asked about their top tokens owned and top lending and borrowing counterparties, as well as checking with local crypto exchanges about the processes they follow after getting the license to understand related risks.
• The news comes ahead of planned changes to crypto regulation in the city-state, with authorities encouraging innovation and development of the Web3 ecosystem on the one hand, and limiting speculative risk and crypto contagion on the other.
• “Licensees and applicants are expected to notify MAS of any event that materially impedes or impairs the operation of the entity, including any matter that may affect its soundness or ability to meet its financial, statutory, contractual or other obligations,” a MAS spokesperson said. Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)

Meta rolls out new Metaverse ID system

Last week, Meta announced that it has officially rolled out what it calls Meta Accounts and Meta Horizon Profiles, a new login system for the company’s VR headsets to be used in place of personal social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram. TechCrunch first reported the story.

• Both old and new users of Oculus, Meta’s VR devices, will be required to create new Meta accounts to log in and access the metaverse. The company developed the new login system in response to growing privacy concerns surrounding personal social media accounts.
• Currently, the company still allows users to create a Meta account using Facebook or Instagram, according to a spokesperson.
• While users will be asked to migrate from their previous social media accounts, they will still be able to access all of their “previous VR purchases and downloads” once the migration is complete, according to the company.
• The firm also claims that those who choose to connect their Meta-powered social media accounts will have access to better experiences in the metaverse, such as livestream sharing, messaging and being able to gain followers faster.
• In addition to the Meta Account, a “Meta Horizon Profile” will replace the once used Oculus Account. The profile will be the home for everything avatar-based and is considered the social media for the metaverse. (TechCrunch)

That’s it for this week’s newsletter – thanks for reading! As always, we welcome feedback on how we can make this newsletter better. Write to us at [email protected]. See you again next week!