Alibaba, Tencent Promise To Check User IDs, Uphold Crypto Ban On China's NFT Marketplaces

Chinese tech giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA and Tencent Holdings TCEHY are among the companies that signed a 14-page document promising to adhere to China’s anti-cryptocurrency laws.

What Happened: According to a report from the South China Morning Post on Monday, several companies involved in China-based NFT marketplaces have published a “self-discipline initiative” through the China Cultural Industry Association.

In the document, the companies have promised to impose user identification checks, comply with the existing ban on cryptocurrencies and avoid establishing a secondary marketplace to fight speculation.

See Also: IS CRYPTO BANNED IN CHINA?

The document’s signatories have said they will “firmly resist speculation” in the market and have stated that their platforms will not contain financial assets or unlicensed financial products, including securities, insurance, credit, and precious metals, in blockchain-supported goods.

Last year, Alibaba launched an NFT marketplace for trademark holders to sell tokenized licenses for intellectual property. Both Alibaba and Tencent later issued a statement denying that their platforms had anything to do with NFTs after reports that the firms were questioned by Chinese authorities on the issue.

See Also: China Cracks Down On Counterfeit Investment Platforms

Last month, Alibaba’s cloud service tweeted that it had launched an NFT solution for companies to build tokenized marketplaces. The controversial tweet was deleted on the same day it was posted.

Price Action: The cryptocurrency market rose 4.3% over the last 24 hours. Bitcoin BTC/USD was up 4.7%, while Ethereum ETH/USD and Dogecoin DOGE/USD saw increases of 7% and 3.4% respectively over the same period.

Photo via Andreanicolini on Shutterstock