Asian Tech Press (Jan 19) -- Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a type of digital asset bridging the metaverse and the real world, has allowed many technology companies to get their foot in the door of the sector.
U.S. retail giant Walmart Inc. is reportedly trying to enter the metaverse sector with plans to create its own cryptocurrency and NFTs.
China's top internet companies have also launched their own NFT platforms to sell digital collections, such as Alibaba's "Jingtan", Tencent's "Huanhe", Baidu's "Xirang", and ByteDance's "Pixsoul", which shows how much importance the giants attach to the metaverse.
Next, ATP will introduce eight Chinese NFT platforms that interest you.
1. Ant-backed "Jingtan"
"Jingtan", formerly known as "AntChain Fan Points", is a mini-program launched by Ant Group's mobile wallet app Alipay in June 2021, and was renamed in December 2021 after the brand upgrade of the platform for digital collectibles.
AntChain, the blockchain technology subsidiary of Ant Group, provides the underlying technical services for the distribution of digital collectibles on the platform. And the platform does not yet support individual users to cast digital collectibles by themselves, nor does it allow secondary trading.
The number of persons using recently the "Jingtan" on Alipay app exceeded 700,000 as of January 10, 2022.
2. "Xirang" developed by Baidu
Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc. released the first Chinese metaverse app "Xirang" in lare December last year.
The platfrom was open to all users on December 27, 2021, and the digital artwork exhibition based on its blockchain network Super Chain was launched in "Xirang" app's Digital Art Gallery on the same day.
3. Tencent's "Huanhe"
The "Huanhe" app is a digital collection trading platform launched by Tencent's Platform & Content Group (PCG) in August 2021, and its digital collections are issued via Zxinchain, the company's government-authorized enterprise blockchain network.
As "Huanhe" has a high synergy with with Tencent's expansive entertainment ecosystem, it's expected that the platform will continue to explore the value of IPs in online literature, film, animation and gaming in the entertainment sector and seek to cash in on them in the future.
4. "Lingxi" produced by JD.com
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc formally launched its digital collection trading platform on December 17, 2021.
"Lingxi" is supported by the company's blockchain service platform, dubbed JD Chain or Zhi Zhen Lian.
5. TheOne.Art
TheOne.Art is currently the leading digital artwork e-commerce platform in China, and has successfully marketed a large number of well-known IPs such as Chinese Asian Modern & Contemporary artist Feng Zikai's paintings, the Forbidden City, Dunhuang, and Tom Cat.
It sells a wide range of digital collections of cultural and creative peripherals, including IPs in national museums, ACG (Animation, Comics, and Games), fashion design, contemporary digital art and photography art.
6. CryptoSpace
Launched in April 2021, CryptoSpace is a trading platform for crypto digital commodities and customized IP derivatives built by algorithms.
On this platform, no code is required, and under the premise of legal compliance, everyone can cast and trade digital collections with one click, and can set the usage scenarios and characteristics of NFTs by themselves and set the proper royalties to support permanent sharing.
7. iBOX
iBox, a NFT platform incubated by Huobi X Center, cryptocurrency and blockchain company Huobi Group's incubator program, was formally launched on May 2021.
The platform is positioned for the distribution of high-end digital collections.
Some believe that this is a signal that iBox's operating entity is fleeing the capital market, and that what iBox had planned in the early stages will fall through.
8. Dongyiyuandian
"Dongyiyuandian" is a platform for circulation of digital collections, which was created by Chinese media company Sumavision Technologies Co. Ltd.
The platform builds artworks, cultural and creative products, and various intellectual property (IP) resources into NFT artworks, and makes them available to users through blockchain technologies.
"Dongyiyuandian" recently announced that it will try to land the independently-built metaverse space to realize that everyone's collection has the opportunity to be exhibited in this space.
In addition, there are also NFT platforms such as Ubanquan, MineNFT and NetEase Planet in China.
China, however, has typically been very strict in its regulation of cryptocurrencies. Previously, financial regulators have made it clear that virtual currencies do not have the same legal status as legal tender and that related business operations are illegal financial activities.
Although NFTs are not equivalent to virtual currencies, given that there are currently no strict regulations or provisions on NFTs in China, and that NFTs are based on the same technology as homogenized tokens, the minting, issuance, sale, and circulation of NFTs will be regulated in the future as NFT applications become more popular.
The development of NFT in China will follow a different business model from that of overseas markets, with Chinese companies starting from copyright protection, playing the function of proof of NFT digital property rights, and emphasizing the exploration of cashless NFT.
