China is Launching its First State-Backed NFT Marketplace

China is launching its first state-backed NFT Marketplace and will serve as a secondary market

China is introducing its first state-backed non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, the most recent indication of the country's adoption of a technology that has existed in limbo under the nation's famously harsh cryptocurrency restrictions. On January 1, the nation's capital Beijing will host a ceremony commemorating the marketplace's opening.

According to a report by the Chinese official media source China Daily, the platform would be operated by three state-owned and commercial organizations: Huban Digital, a private corporation; China Technology Exchange, a government-backed organization; and Art Exhibitions in China. The "China Digital Asset Trading Platform" platform will be utilized to trade collectibles as well as digital copyrights and property rights. According to the source, the platform's underlying blockchain is known as the "China Cultural Protection Chain."

Chinese traders have been using NFTs for most of the last two years, but not in the same methods as the rest of the globe. The laws of China prohibit the use of cryptocurrencies to pay for NFTs, which are instead referred to as digital collectibles.

In addition, controlled, strictly regulated platforms rather than open ones are used for the trading of digital artwork. A significant step forward in the protection of digital assets was made earlier this month when a Chinese court decided that they share identical property rights with goods sold on e-commerce websites.

NFTs are considered to be virtual property that is legally protected and that "have the object characteristics of property rights such as value, scarcity, controllability, and traceability," according to a prior decision by China's Hangzhou Internet Court on November 29. Since 2021, cryptocurrency exchanges have been prohibited in China, even though crypto ownership is regarded as virtual property that is protected by the law.