Key takeaways:
- Alibaba’s NFT platform will open the transfer function, but users must wait for 180 days before transferring, and the recipient must hold for two years.
- On its AntChain platform, Alipay has been promoting NFT artworks.
- While China’s internet behemoths have embraced the notion of NFTs, regulatory issues have prevented them from offering re-selling alternatives to customers.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, usually known as Alibaba Group or Alibaba.com, is a Chinese multinational technology corporation specializing in e-commerce, retail, the internet, and technology.
Alibaba Group’s second-quarter revenue increased by 29% year on year to RMB200.7 billion (US$31.1 billion), owing primarily to its China commerce retail division and cloud computing services.
China’s GDP and consumption increased in the September quarter, albeit slower than in prior quarters. Overall retail sales climbed 5% year over year in the third quarter. Physical products retailing on the internet increased by 8% year over year, compared to 17% the previous year. Offline retail has only recently recovered to where it was two years ago.
Alibaba recently renamed its non-fungible token (NFT) features and referred to them as “digital collectibles,” despite many Chinese official media outlets having openly denounced NFTs.
Alipay has been promoting NFT artworks based on its AntChain platform. Alibaba Group owns Alipay, a free professional financial services app. Users can save their debit or credit card information in an electronic wallet and use it to make online or in-store payments. It offered NFT wallpapers for its payment interface in June and August, and it even developed NFTs featuring the torch of the 2022 Asian Games last month.
The new transfer feature will be available on Alibaba’s NFT platform, but users must hold for 180 days before transferring, and the receiver must hold for two years. The goal is to avoid the NFT hype, which the Chinese government despises.
While China’s internet giants have welcomed the concept of NFTs, they have avoided giving re-selling options to consumers due to regulatory concerns.
Although NFTs are not included in China’s recently tightened prohibition on cryptocurrency-related activities, the country’s state media have expressed significant reservations about the new type of digital collectible.
