According to a local news report, China will launch its first regulated platform for non-fungible token (NFT) trading on January 1, 2023. The national NFT marketplace will serve as a secondary market for the exchange of NFTs. It was built by the National Chinese Technology Exchange, the National Art Exhibitions China, and Huban Digital Copyrights Ltd, a private corporate entity.

Yu Jianing, a leading expert on digital assets and metaverse developments in China, in an interview, commented on the development:

“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.”

About China’s New NFT National Marketplace

This platform will not only trade NFTs, but it will also encourage the trading of copyrights related to digital assets. 

This project is aimed to “regulate and avoid the excessive speculation in secondary [NFT] markets” an insider stated. 

The Hangzhou Internet Court, which specializes in internet-related legal disputes in China, previously ruled on November 29 that NFTs are virtual property protected by law and that they “have the object characteristics of property rights, such as value, scarcity, controllability, and tradeability.” 

Since 2021, cryptocurrency exchanges have been banned in China, and crypto possession is recognized as virtual property protected by the law.