China launched a state-sanctioned high school digital asset trading platform on New Year’s Day. Following concerns over speculation surrounding non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the four tech giants Tencent, Ant, Baidu and JD have imposed a self-imposed ban on secondary trading of digital collectibles in mid-2022. The new national mall will only it has a live registration process, so it remains to be seen what kind of IP is supported, with the platform’s innovation working group made up of museums, tourism organizations and copyright holders.

The state-owned China Digital Assets Trading Platform was jointly created by the China Technology Exchange, the Cultural Relics Exchange and the Copyright Service Center with the aim of standardizing the trading process to curb speculation.

One of the drivers is that China recognizes that digital assets will be important to the development of the metaverse, whether it be for avatars, clothing, art or museum pieces. In addition to the innovation task force, there is a metaverse task force that includes local governments and state-owned companies.

In the past, the Chinese government has repeatedly highlighted the financial risks of NFTs and the speculative nature of the NFT market. Although NFTs are not subject to the same Chinese restrictions as cryptocurrencies, taking into account the voluntary suspension of secondary trading, NFT services introduced by companies such as Tencent they have already been closed. However, NFTs are supported by the government-backed infrastructure network. BSNeven for more business-oriented use cases.

With the hype of consumer NFTs, it’s easy to forget the more B2B use cases. Registration and asset verification services are common blockchain applications. And that extends to intellectual property, as both Baidu and Ant have previously released copyrighted blockchain applications. In November 2022, the Polish and Italian Patent Offices joined the EUIPO blockchain, which registers registrations and updates of trademark and design registrations. Similarly, Italy’s music copyright body SIAEworked with Algorand to protect its intellectual property.

However, the digital asset trading platform in China plans to go a step further to act as a credible inventory servicing mechanism for tradable digital assets. While the full range of services provided by the new trading platform is not detailed, the platform would provide digital asset registration, verification and rights monitoring through China’s Cultural Protection Chain. It remains to be seen what restrictions will be placed on the resale of digital collectibles, considering the government’s previous stance on the financial risks associated with speculative trading.