Xinhua News Agency, a Chinese state-run media company, has revealed that it will soon issue China’s first “news digital collectibles” in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs),
In an official announcement on Wednesday, Xinhua will issue a total of 110,001 copies of unique photographs taken by journalists in 2021.
According to the announcement, the digital items will be made up of 11 collections consisting of 10,000 copies, each with one special edition release, which will be available on the Xinhua mobile app on Friday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve.
The development indicates an increasing interest in virtual assets and blockchain technology, despite several warnings by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) about the potential risks associated with the asset class.
The media company noted that the collection has a “special memorial significance,” adding that it “recorded many precious historical moments in 2021.”
The digital collectibles will reportedly include the Chinese Communist Party’s celebration of its 100th anniversary in July at Tiananmen Square in Beijing and China’s recent milestone of administering more than 2.7 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses nationwide.
“It is a special year-end summary written into the world of the metaverse,” the announcement added.
Following the massive crackdown on digital assets by the Chinese government, cryptocurrency entities in the country have maintained a low profile. However, Xinhua’s recently proposed NFT launch is not the country’s first move into the digital collectibles space.
Earlier during the DeFi Summer 2.0, popular Chinese media outlet The South China Morning Post revealed that it was creating a series of NFTs using a new token standard dubbed “ARTIFACT,” which is allegedly designed to preserve historical assets on the blockchain.
Meanwhile, China has continued to maintain a stringent stance against crypto assets and every other activity related to cryptocurrencies, including mining operations.
A few weeks ago, a high-ranking official was found guilty of supporting crypto mining companies. As a result, Xiao Yi was stripped of his position and expelled from the Communist Party.