China’s state media released photos in NFT format, has the government changed its mind?

China’s Xinhua News Agency on December 22 officially announced that it will release a photo gallery in the form of NFT (non-fungible token) for the first time for China.

The NFT is a digital certificate of ownership that will be globally popular in 2021. Everything from a Twitter post to paintings is tradable as NFT on blockchain technology.

But China’s relationship with the technology behind NFT, which also powers cryptocurrencies, is a complicated one.

The release of the collection by the state news agency shows official support for the NFT. However, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China People’s Daily last month criticized that NFT could lead to fraudulent or fraudulent behavior.

In the official announcement, Xinhua News Agency said it plans to release 11 photos taken by journalists in 2021. The collection will be released online for free on December 24. Each NFT has 10,000 copies. The collection includes a photo commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China. Xinhua calls it a “digital memory recorded in the metaverse virtual universe”.

The Securities Times, a financial newspaper overseen by the People’s Daily, called the metaverse an “illusory concept”.

Chinese companies, especially the unlisted Ant Group, are exploring and adopting NFT technologies. Most stocks related to China’s metaverse rose after the Xinhua news agency’s announcement.

Shares of virtual reality company Goertek rose 6%, while online game company Perfect World gained nearly 4%. Last month, social media giant Tencent Holdings said it hoped Beijing would allow the metaverse to operate in China, as long as it complies with Chinese regulations.

Cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin are considered conventional payment methods in the metaverse. But Beijing has clamped down on cryptocurrencies and sees them as an avenue for illicit capital flows and money laundering. China also banned cryptocurrency trading and mining in September. However, the Chinese government remains open to NFT and metaverse.

According to RT