Chinese Internet giants are changing the behavior of NFT customers in order to protect the industry from government interference.
Alibaba and Tencent have officially updated their terms of service, The South China Morning Post reported.
Alibaba-owned platform Jingtan has announced that it will report users using bots or other software to bulk buy collectibles. The platform will also alert the police to any users found to be arranging an exchange outside of the platform.
In turn, Tencent banned users of its WeChat app from selling certain NFTs using third-party software and from promoting collectibles on its platforms. Previously, WeChat was extremely popular with Chinese users looking to sell or buy NFTs.
Previously, Tencent signed a non-fungible token self-regulation agreement that obliges NFT trading platform owners to ensure the safe use of digital assets, fight money laundering and stop financial speculation.
Citizens of China can only buy NFTs with the state currency – yuan. In addition, they are required to register under their real name in order to gain access to the sites. The Chinese government has long enforced punitive laws on cryptocurrencies, but the popularity of NFTs as digital collectibles has so far helped users avoid punitive legislation. However, the fact that non-fungible tokens are issued using the blockchain makes the position of the NFT industry in the country extremely precarious.
