By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
NFTs purchase has taken a new dimension as Alipay, China’s biggest private payments platform, integrates non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into its app such that users can purchase them. This is definitely a novel feature and may witness other ideas similar to this. Users can make NFT purchases on the app with renminbi. Interestingly, the NFTs are deployed on AntChain.
Announcement of this new development was made on several Twitter pages including Wu Blockchain, popular Chinese crypto journalist. Wu Blockchain had further announced that the NFTs were inspired by an ancient art style called Dunhuang. Screenshots of the Alipay’s NFT user interface that had been shown by Matthew Graham, CEO of Sino Global Capital who said he had acquired an NFT with renminbi on the app. Reports confirmed that this NFT marketplace is built on the AntChain network contrary to the common networks on which most marketplaces are built.
Alipay Partners With AntChain Group
The Ant Group is behind the AntChain Network which was built for the purpose of deploying NFT tokens and certificates. The firm is guided by China’s recent policy on digital currencies and is careful not to infringe on it. However, the distributed ledger technology is being utilized by the country to release its own central bank digital currency– the digital Yuan. The Asian giant has been so harsh lately on cryptocurrencies and mining activities that it placed a ban outlawing crypto mining operations in the country. Hence, the Chinese government has encouraged the use of its physical Yuan until the digital version is launched.
Following the Alipay development, NFT sales will certainly experience a peak as they have been on a low except for a few record-breaking sales which attracted more attention to NFTs. Earlier this month, a rare cryptoPunk- pixelated NFTs went on sale at auction house Sotheby’s, for about $12 million. Alipay may extend their novel NFT feature to other aspects such as music, games, sports, etc soon enough.
China Supports Blockchain Technology, Not Crypto
China is aiming to utilize the digital ledger innovation to its advantage although its stance towards privately-issued digital currencies has been rather harsh and critical. It believes the decentralized nature of these currencies allows them to come in handy during money laundering and other unlawful activities. Reports indicate China’s approach towards digital ledger technology is a futuristic one with its sights set on 2035.
On June 22nd, China announced that it believes the digital Yuan would help the country improve its economy. The country is also planning to use its CBDC to usurp the hegemony of the US dollar which constitutes 59% of the banks’ reserves around the world. China hopes it will be able to ensure the global acceptance of the digital Yuan.
However, financial experts have expressed concerns over what the country termed as ‘controlled anonymity’ which it believes would help monitor questionable transactions with the CBDC. Experts predicted that if people were to embrace the digital Yuan, it would definitely take a long while. China has been partnering with banks around the country to distribute the CBDC among customers.
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