TL;DR Breakdown
- The Chinese government is tightening the reins on NFTs.
- NFTs are no longer allowed for-profit initiatives but instead digital collectibles.
China has recently imposed new restrictions on the usage of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Yet, internet giants are looking to expand their reach into a new realm of digital collectibles. The ban only applies in the decentralized trade models where NFTs exist, but it doesn’t seem like these companies will stop anytime soon.
According to Colin Wu, regulators have been in talks with major Internet firms about NFTs. It appears as though these NFTs are no longer allowed, but you can use them as digital collectibles instead.
The future of the NFT industry is uncertain, but it will not go down without a fight. Authorities interviewed prominent internet companies. They later assured them to use their products as virtual collectibles.
China’s internet companies are launching new NFT trading platforms. And, even McDonald’s in the country has started to enter the tokenized industry despite the pressure from authorities.
More Chinese Internet companies are beginning to enter the NFT field. Tencent and Alibaba have already opened trading platforms for NFT products. Besides, McDonald’s recently issued its first token.
McDonald’s China NFT
It’s not every day that you see an invention from McDonald’s! Recently, the fast-food chain released a set of 188 NFTs to present in honor of their 31st anniversary. They named the first NFT “Big Mac Rubik’s Cube.” The company’s NFT is a clever play on the architectural designs in McDonald’s new headquarters building. And it was rightly inspired by their expansion into mainland China.
“McDonald’s is a trendy brand that is always keen on fashion trends and cutting-edge technology. I am very happy that McDonald’s has become the first domestic restaurant brand to release NFT. McDonald’s China’s new headquarters building is a brand-new development milestones. At this special moment, we use the form of NFT to share our innovation and digitization with employees and clients.” said Zhang Jiayin, CEO of McDonald’s China.
China sustained onslaught on cryptocurrency
China is sustaining a tough stance against all forms of crypto trade and plans to eradicate digital asset mining. It has formally listed crypto’s as “illegal financial activity.” The People’s Bank of China website states that one can’t circulate crypto. Thus all transactions are under scrutiny. The exchange platforms, including Binance, have shut.
Besides, China has not spared companies that are working abroad in this fight. Just today, they targeted two of the largest stock trading platforms Futu Niuniu and Tiger Securities. The company’s search engines were suspended, and could not search for Bitcoin ETF listed in the United States.
