Regulations in big country can’t keep citizens away.
Crypto has seen an official ban in China as the country deals with web3 a bit differently than other nations. NFTs however, have not seen such regulations being placed on them. Instead, authorities have warned citizens against the risks of the platform.
Recent data in China has shown that there has been a 5X increase in the number of digital collectible platforms. since February 2022. The sharp rise has come as part of a giant leap in interest and popularity of the digital collectibles space. Major Chinese players such as Tencent and Alibaba have already gone to file multiple trademarks within the web3 space.
Authorities have however spoken against NFT collections and state the focus on secondary markets creates risks for investors. Currently, there is no regulatory system in place for the NFT so it would also make sense why the authorities are so adamant about the people abandoning this form of collecting.
The NFT market has a secondary feature in China. Since the Covid lockdowns, citizens have been using NFTs to express themselves more openly and digitally. Hundreds of NFTs have been listed on Opensea by Chinese citizens since May. 2022. With the continuing all-seeing eye of the authorities being in play, many users and platforms have to be more diligent in mentioning NFTs or participating in the sphere.
Alibaba had created a new NFT solution only to have to promptly delete it and all mentions of it. Other companies such as Ant Group and Tencent holdings have gone around authorities by calling their NFTs “Digital collectibles” and having them traded on private blockchains or traded using Chinese Fiat. Most companies that are dealing with NFTs use different phrasing or business plans to avoid government crackdowns.
NFTs may see a decline in interest or sales here but definitely doesn’t seem that way in China.