Xinhua, the news agency of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has announced that it will release a set of non-fungible tokens (NFT) later this week as part of a “metaverse” move.
While media outlets releasing NFTs does not really class as news nowadays, this is not true in the case of a CCP mouthpiece – particularly as Beijing has spent the past few months condemning NFTs.
As reported yesterday, Chinese tech giants have even shunned the term “NFT” due to its crypto connotations, treading on eggshells and instead referring to their offerings as “digital collections” and “digital collectibles.”
“Metaverse” is another term being used with caution in Mainland China, again due largely to its crypto overtones.
But, Xinhua revealed in a post, the agency will release a “special collection” on December 24, and will involve the “adoption of blockchain NFT technology” for what it claims will be “China’s first Digital News Collection.”
The NFTs will feature select “2021 photo-journalism reports” and will feature “unique identification and ownership information on the blockchain” as well as “collectability value.”
Xinhua stated that as a “special year-end summary” of its news coverage it was producing NFTs that would be “written into the world of the metaverse” as a digital memory.
The media outlet wrote that a total of 11 items will be released, each limited to 10,000 units. A special edition piece “with only one copy” will also be made available.
However, there were a number of “buts” for those prepared to read between the lines. The agency remarked that “all” of the NFTs would be available “online for free” – a sign that Beijing is happy to clamber on board the NFT train provided it can be sure these pieces will not be used as tools of speculation.
There was also no mention of which blockchain protocol the NFTs will use. It is almost certain, therefore, that Xinhua will use its own or another private blockchain network – rather than a more commonly used protocol like Ethereum (ETH).
All, doubtlessly, will be revealed on December 24, when the NFTs are released.
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