Asia Express: Chinese NFT Marketplace, Popular But Buggy Moutai Metaverse…

As part of a joint effort between state-owned Chinese Technology Exchange, state-owned Art Exhibitions China and Huban Digital Copyrights Ltd, China's first national NFT marketplace is expected to go live this week.

It is designed as a secondary market for trading digital collectibles, as well as copyrights for digital assets. Unsurprisingly, it's built on China's national Wenbao, or "cultural protection" blockchain, which helps verify the authenticity of artifacts and trade goods. Currently, only the NFT platform landing page is accessible.

1400 blockchain companies in China

On December 29, the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology, or CAICT, revealed in its national white paper that more than 1,400 blockchain companies are operating in the country despite strict regulations. Together, Chinese and American blockchain companies account for 52% of such entities globally. In an example of distributed ledger applications in the public service, CAICT researchers wrote:

"[In] Zhejiang province's blockchain e-invoicing platform, [authorities] have utilized the blockchain's multiple access points and decentralized process capabilities, as well as technology features such as smart contracts, to improve the verification of trust in various departments. This has led to the digital circulation of electronic invoices; their issuance, receipt, inspection, reimbursement, and improved the level of information management and service capabilities electronic invoices in financial services."

Similarly, local media outlet Shanghai Securities News reported that the Digital Yuan Central Bank Digital Currency, or e-CNY CBDC, surpassed 104.8 billion Chinese yuan ($15.21 billion) d use in Zhejiang Province since its establishment in April. Residents of the province opened 24.14 million e-CNY wallets and authorities claimed to have distributed 3.5 billion yuan ($510 million) in tax refunds via e-CNY to residents as experimental. Despite the results, experts such as former Chinese central banker Xie Peng said "usage has been low" for the CBDC.

Kunming Blockchain KPIs

On December 30, Kunming City released its three-year plan for the development of municipal digital economy. The report set a 25 percent annual growth target for the city's digital economy to top 500 billion yuan ($72.58 billion) within two years. In addition, local Communist Party officials must meet collective KPIs of incubating at least 20 blockchain-specific applications and nurturing the development of at least 10 “highly competitive” and technologically advanced blockchain companies. by the end of 2024. “Please implement [them] fully and completely,” the document reads.

Moutai Metaverse Reaches 1 Million Users

The Moutai Metaverse Experience. Source: 68h5.com

On January 1, renowned Chinese liquor distiller Moutai and internet technology company WangYi launched their joint metaverse Xunfeng World on the Apple App Store . The developers designed the experience based on Moutai distilleries in Guizhou province. Players can interact with each other and with distillers to learn the traditional Moutai making experience.

Only two days later, its registered users surpassed one million, with the app ranking No. 1 in the e-commerce category in China. However, the app only had a 2.4/5 rating at the time of writing, with users complaining about in-game features, "excruciating" waiting times for Know Your Customer verification, difficulty connection and poor customer service. A user wrote:

“There is no customer hotline, there is no customer service, and I don't even know where to fix the problem. I could never pass KYC on the day of the app release. What's wrong? I'm literally begging you to take my money so I can play this game, but...