China to launch its first regulated NFT marketplace, China Digital Asset Trading Platform, on January 1

China will launch a regulated platform for trading Non-fungible trading tokens (NFTs) known as China Digital Asset Trading Platform on January 1, 2023, according to local media outlet Sina News.

The Chinese Technology Exchange, Art Exhibitions China, and Huban Digital Copyrights Ltd, a private corporation, jointly created the platform to facilitate the exchange of NFTs as a secondary market.

The Platform will also provide institutions and individuals with rights protection monitoring and copyright protection services concerning digital assets.

The launch of China Digital Assets Exchange represents an acceleration in the cultural industry’s digital transformation in China, according to Yu Jianing, an expert on digital assets and metaverse space in China.

Earlier, China’s central bank announced the country’s CBDC plans and released trial versions of digital yuan wallet apps on mobile.

However, in 2021, China passed a law that banned all crypto-currency transactions, effectively banning digital tokens such as Bitcoin. The country has also taken strict action against people involved with crypto mining. As a result of the ban, a number of crypto firms in the country ceased operations, including Huocoin, Binance, BiKi, BHEX, and several others.

However, the country is becoming interested in metaverse and NFTs as the authorities seek to regulate them.  Recently, the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang announced plans to develop metaverse-related industries valued at over 200 billion yuan by 2025.