Due to regulatory talks on NFTs? Tencent and Alibaba respond this way
The essence of things and whether they comply with regulations is subject to judgment; simply changing a name does not resolve the issue.Author: Zhang Yangyang
Recently, it has been reported that regulatory authorities have strengthened their oversight of Chinese internet companies issuing NFTs and establishing NFT platforms, and have interviewed some internet companies. Currently, companies including Tencent (Huanhe) and Alibaba (Ant Chain Fans) have completely removed the term NFT, replacing it with "digital collectibles."
A reporter from "Blockchain Daily" logged into the Alipay mini-program "Ant Chain Fans" and Tencent's Huanhe App, and indeed found that there were no references to NFTs on the pages, which displayed only "digital collectibles."
Today (24th), an insider from Tencent Huanhe told a reporter from "Blockchain Daily": "The renaming of Huanhe's NFT to digital collectibles has been in place for some time and is unrelated to regulation. The standard Chinese name for NFT is 非同质化代币 (non-fungible token), and in actual business, we need to explain to each partner that it is compliant, that this token is not that 'coin.' The renaming is for the convenience of business development."
The insider further stated: "Whether something is compliant or not is a matter for regulation to judge; simply changing a name does not resolve the issue, and regulation will not allow us to just change a name."
The Ant Chain side also told reporters: "We firmly oppose all forms of speculation on digital collectibles and resolutely resist any illegal activities that are disguised as virtual currency activities under the name of digital collectibles; we firmly resist any malicious speculation on the prices of digital collectible goods, using technical means to ensure that prices reflect reasonable market demand; we firmly resist any illegal activities such as equity trading or standardized contract trading of digital collectibles, and oppose the financialization of digital collectibles."
Although it is just a renaming, the potential regulation triggered by NFTs has become a focal point of industry attention.
On one hand, NFTs, as a type of crypto asset, are still priced in cryptocurrency in some market products. However, currently, cryptocurrencies are facing strict regulatory scrutiny in China.
On the other hand, there have been multiple instances of sky-high speculation on NFTs released by domestic internet platforms.
In September of this year, a user auctioned the "2022 Hangzhou Asian Games Digital Torch" NFT on Alibaba for 3.149 million yuan. In June, when Alipay just launched the Dunhuang Feitian NFT, many buyers of these NFT payment code skins were reselling them on Xianyu, with the highest price reaching 1.5 million yuan. Later, Xianyu removed all related selling links.
On September 24, the People's Bank of China and ten other departments issued a notice on "Further Preventing and Addressing Risks of Speculation in Virtual Currency Trading," strictly regulating the handling measures for virtual currency speculation.
Although NFTs are currently not classified as virtual currencies in China, the industry believes that the speculation triggered by NFT trading could likely lead to regulation of the NFT market and related platforms. This is also the most cautious aspect for internet companies like Alibaba and Tencent that issue NFTs.
After the sky-high speculation of the Asian Games torch NFT, Ant Chain promptly issued a statement indicating that it had removed the corresponding illegal products and taken appropriate action against users for violations. Blockchain-based digital collectibles are still being explored, and all forms of speculation are firmly opposed. Speculation goes against basic value laws, and rising false demand is harmful and unhelpful to society.
Currently, on Ant Chain Fans, only holders of digital collectibles are supported, and they can transfer them free of charge to eligible real-name Alipay friends after holding them for 180 days. Ant emphasizes, "It is important to note that, according to legal requirements, the transfer function does not support any form of disguised speculation, and Ant Chain reminds everyone to be aware of online fraud risks."
