China to Launch First National NFT Marketplace on January 1st‍

NFTs have been popular among Chinese traders over the last two years, but not in the same manner as the rest of the globe. According to Chinese legislation, NFTs cannot be acquired using cryptocurrencies and are referred to as digital collectibles rather than NFTs.

Digital artwork is also traded on controlled, highly regulated networks rather than open ones. Earlier this month, a Chinese court decided that digital assets had property rights comparable to things sold on e-commerce platforms, which was considered a significant step forward in their protection.

According to a report from local news source Sina News that was published on December 28, China will launch its first regulated platform for non-fungible token (NFT) trading on January 1st, 2023.

In addition to NFTs, the platform will permit the trade of digital asset copyrights. The effort attempts to "regulate and avoid the excessive speculation in secondary [NFT] markets," as stated by a source acquainted with the situation. Yu Jianing, a major specialist on digital assets and metaverse developments in China said:

“In terms of industry supervision and regulation, digital assets represent a new form of commerce, and much regarding laws, regulations and supervisory policies remains to be refined. Therefore, a deal of uncertainty exists. Platforms have a clear responsibility for the listing and trading of digital assets. Relative to intellectual property rights and digital copyrights, digital assets face a greater risk of regulatory soundness.”

Also, at the beginning of 2022, the Blockchain Services Network (BSN), a Chinese state-backed blockchain company, announced its plans to support the deployment of the non-fungible token industry allowing individuals and businesses in China to create and trade NFTs.

As a case in point, NFTs are now considered to be a virtual property that is legally protected and that "have the object characteristics of property rights such as value, scarcity, controllability, and trade ability," according to a prior announcement made by China's Hangzhou Internet Court on November 29. Since 2021, cryptocurrency exchanges have been prohibited in China, despite the fact that crypto ownership is regarded as virtual property that is protected by the law.