May 6, 2022
By Tsering Namgyal and Joe Pan
Private investors in China and state-owned firms are getting on NFT (non-fungible tokens) bandwagon despite the Chinese government’s banning of crypto and skepticism toward NFTs, which they call digital collectibles.
China’s state-owned real estate developer Greenland Holdings bought Bored Ape Yatch Club (BAYC) and used it as a digital strategic NFT figure on twitter, becoming probably one of the first listed companies in the world to do so.
The latest development raises a question about the banning of crypto and skepticism in China, which experts have said had led to a retreat of NFT issuers and a lack of marketplace and liquidity in China.
The regulations, however, have not stopped high-net-worth Chinese collectors from flocking to the NFT marketplace.
“Many high-profile investors in China are buying NFT and using it as their Personal For Profile (PFP) even though sales and marketing of NFT is somewhat restricted in China,” said Jeffrey Lebowski, the chief marketing officer of Dogecoin.
According to the Chinese government’s statement, investors are NFTs are not to be used for securitization and are not allowed to transact in cryptocurrencies.
China’s banking, securities and internet financial associations said in a statement last month that:
• the underlying assets of NFTs should not include bonds, insurance, securities, precious metals or other financial assets.
• NFT’s nonfungibility should not be weakened so as to indirectly facilitate initial coin offerings.
• Platforms should not provide centralized exchanges for NFTs.
• NFTs should not be transacted in cryptocurrencies.
• Platforms should impose real-identity checks on and store transaction records of customers to root out money laundering.
• Entities should not directly or indirectly provide financing support to NFT investments.
It remains to be seen if the latest purchase of BAYC by Greenland could point towards a somewhat more relaxed policy towards NFTs in China.
About the author
Tsering Namgyal is the chief content officer of Blockchain Asset Review
Joe Pan is a contributing editor at Blockchain Asset Review
