The Xinhua News Agency, a Chinese state-run media company, revealed that it will soon release China’s first “digital collectibles” in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs),
Xinhua Launches NFT Collection
In an official announcement on Wednesday, Xinhua will issue a total of 110,001 copies of unique photographs taken by journalists in 2021.
According to the announcement, the digital items will consist of 11 collections consisting of 10,000 copies, each with a special edition, which will be available on the Xinhua mobile app on Friday, December 24, Christmas Eve.
The development indicates an increasing interest in virtual assets and blockchain technology, despite several warnings by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) about the potential risks associated with the asset class.
Xinhua’s NFT to Record Historic Moments of 2021
The media company noted that the collection has “special commemorative significance”, adding that it “recorded many treasured historical moments in 2021”.
The digital collectibles will reportedly include the Chinese Communist Party’s celebration of its 100th anniversary in July at Tiananmen Square in Beijing and China’s recent milestone of administering more than 2.7 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses nationwide.
“It’s a special year-end summary written in the metaverse world,” the ad adds.
Not the First Time
Following the massive crackdown on digital assets by the Chinese government, cryptocurrency entities in the country have maintained a low profile. However, Xinhua’s recently proposed NFT launch is not the country’s first move into the digital collectibles space.
Earlier during DeFi Summer 2.0, popular Chinese media The South China Morning Post revealed that it was creating a series of NFTs using a new token standard dubbed “ARTIFACT,” which would be designed to preserve the historical assets of the blockchain.
China Intensifies Crackdown on Crypto
Meanwhile, China has continued to maintain a stringent stance against crypto assets and every other activity related to cryptocurrencies, including mining operations.
A few weeks ago, a senior official was convicted of supporting crypto mining companies. As a result, Xiao Yi was removed from his post and expelled from the Communist Party.
