Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Wuhan made public for the first time its ambitions for NFTs and the metaverse. The objective was to stimulate economic activity that had slowed down as a result of the shutdown.
Aside from that, Wuhan was the city in 2019 when the virus was initially discovered. The NFTs were discussed in the industrial draft plan that the city developed to expand its metaverse economy.
However, the most recent version of the draft that the government has been working on does not include NFTs, according to South China Morning Post. In addition, the neighborhood news outlets have reported that the most recent edition encourages companies to focus on Web3 and decentralized technology.
Regrettably, there was not a single word said about NFTs. With this updated version, Wuhan hopes to go forward with the building of the metaverse. By the year 2025, the city expects to have at least two metaverse estates and will have sponsored more than 200 metaverse businesses.
The Chinese government has shown a lot of interest in metaverse-related technology during the past few years. In addition, a number of cities in China have disclosed their strategies for the growth of the metaverse. The cities of Shanghai and Beijing are two examples.
At the beginning of this year, the government also announced its intention to assist businesses that are driven by the metaverse. NFT-related businesses, on the other hand, have found themselves in a very different situation, as the government has shown them a significant deal of antagonism.
There is still a lack of clarity on NFTs across the country. On the other hand, in contrast to cryptocurrencies, the Chinese government has not instituted a prohibition on the use of or trading in NFTs.
China Issues a Caution to Its Citizens Regarding NFT Trading
However, over the course of time, the authorities have been warning communities about the dangers of NFTs. At the beginning of the year 2022, the authorities in China made an effort to differentiate NFTs and cryptocurrencies.
In spite of the ban on cryptocurrencies, this was done with the intention of making it possible for the NFT sector to expand. This resulted in a significant increase of interest in the nation. During the COVID-19 lockdown, a large number of regular folks flooded the OpenSea NFT market with NFTs.
In the meanwhile, the Chinese government is of the opinion that the NFT market is subject to irrational speculation. These rumors could lead to investors losing their money on worthless NFTs, which would be a terrible outcome for everyone involved.
In addition to that, a proportional increase in fraudulent activities has been recorded alongside the emergence of NFTs. As a direct consequence of this, a number of government authorities have issued statements warning people against investing in NFTs.
In addition, the Chinese government has not disclosed whether or not it intends to outlaw NFTs in the near future. In spite of this, numerous NFT platforms around the country have been proceeding with caution in light of the uncertainties.
Companies with ties to Alibaba, including as Tencent Holdings and Ant Group, have taken measures to safeguard their respective brands. Previously, the corporations renamed the NFTs that were listed under their names to "digital collectibles."
In addition to that, they provided private blockchain support for digital collectibles. In addition, users purchase and trade NFTs using the Yuan, the country's primary currency.