China Launching State-Run NFT Marketplace on January 1

China is reportedly creating its first state-backed non-fungible token (NFT) platform, the latest hint of support for a technology that has inhabited a legal gray area inside the country’s famously tight cryptocurrency restrictions.

A ceremony commemorating the marketplace’s opening will be conducted in Beijing on January 1, 2023.

According to China Daily, the platform will be operated by three state-owned and commercial enterprises, including China Technology Exchange and Art Exhibitions China, all of which are government-backed, and Huban Digital, a private firm.

The platform, dubbed “China Digital Asset Trading Platform,” will be utilized to trade collectibles as well as digital copyrights and property rights. According to the source, the platform’s underlying blockchain is known as “China Cultural Protection Chain.”

NFTs in China are not subject to the country’s tight regulations on cryptocurrencies which have been banned outright since last year.