Beijing: Chinese internet and tech giants on Monday signed an initiative to ban cryptocurrency and digital collectibles (NFTs), along with a promise not to establish secondary marketplaces.
According to the South China Morning Post, Tencent and Ant Group joined a self-driven industry initiative to ban cryptocurrency and fight speculation.
Platforms that sell digital collectibles "shall require real-name authentication of those who issue, sell, and buy" the assets and "only support legal tender as the denomination and settlement currency", according to the document signed by China's biggest tech firms.
"Do not contain financial assets or unlicensed financial products, including securities, insurance, credit, and precious metals, in blockchain-supported goods," it added.
In April this year, the National Internet Finance Association of China, the China Banking Association, and the Securities Association of China issued a joint statement to prohibit the use of NFTs in the issuance of financial assets.
The new initiative called on tech firms not to "set up a centralised marketplace" for bidding, matching, or anonymous NFT trading.
The Chinese government banned Bitcoin mining in July last year.
It has plans to launch its central bank digital currency (CBDC) called the digital Chinese yuan (e-CNY).
The country banned all cryptocurrency transactions last September and barred foreign crypto exchanges from operating within the country in 2018.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
Disclaimer: Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and is subject to market risks. Readers are advised to seek expert advice and read offer document(s) along with related important literature on the subject carefully before making any kind of investment whatsoever. Cryptocurrency market predictions are speculative and any investment made shall be at the sole cost and risk of the readers.