Chinese NFT platforms have grown 5X in four months despite regulatory

17-Jun-2022 By: Rohit Khandelwal

Chinese NFT platforms have grown 5X in four months

despite regulatory warnings

The popularity of nonfungible tokens is growing, as recent data reveals that the number of digital collectable platforms in China has increased to over 500, a 5X increase from February 2022, when there were just over 100.

According to an article published by a local Chinese newspaper, the dramatic increase in the number of NFT platforms coincides with the country's rising interest in digital treasures. Tencent and Alibaba, two major digital companies, have expressed interest in the new industry and have filed many trademark patents.

Despite many warnings from local authorities, the growth in interest in digital treasures in China continues. According to regulatory organizations, the Chinese NFT market is rife with speculation, with an emphasis on the secondary market, which offers inherent dangers to investors.

During China's tight covid-19-induced lockdowns, NFTs were a means for individuals to express themselves digitally. In May, at the height of the government shutdown, Shanghai citizens advertised hundreds of NFTs on Opensea.

Individuals and corporations continue to participate with digital collectibles despite the lack of governmental oversight, albeit with caution to avoid direct conflict with authorities. Alibaba recently released a new NFT solution and then swiftly removed any mentions of it from the internet.

Ant Group and Tencent Holdings, both Alibaba-affiliated enterprises, have previously branded their listed NFTs as "digital collectibles" to dodge regulatory scrutiny. They're also available on private blockchains and may be traded or bought with Chinese yuan.

Similarly, in China, numerous internet firms and key social media platforms are divided over legislative clarity on NFTs and have opted to remove some markets off their platforms for fear of government retaliation.

The Beijing government's harsh position on the crypto industry is widely known, yet the restriction on decentralized technology has proven ineffectual. The crypto mining prohibition, which had previously resulted in a 50% drop in BTC network hash rate, was unable to totally eclipse the country's mining industry, and China is now ranked second after the US in terms of hash power contribution to the Bitcoin network.

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