Chinese internet giants remove NFT platforms fearing government crackdown
The Chinese government’s regulatory crackdown on the country’s cryptocurrency industry has begun to impact the country’s internet giants, with a number of platforms removing their NFT trading operations in the last few weeks. The crackdown has had a significant impact on the country’s cryptocurrency market, with the five biggest crypto exchanges in the country now only managing a fraction of their previous volumes.
The regulatory pressure has also hit the country’s crypto mining industry, with China’s biggest mining company suspending its operations in the country earlier this week. The Chinese government has moved to ban the sale and promotion of exchanges and NFT exchanges in the country, but the government has so far not moved to shut down the countries.
Chinese internet giants Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent removed NFT (near-field-technology) platforms from their mobile phone apps, in a bid to avoid government scrutiny over its impact on privacy, according to reports. The companies have denied any connection with the removals, but experts say that the companies are simply trying to avoid government scrutiny over the impact on privacy.
Summary
Chinese internet giants Alibaba Group Holding, Baidu Inc, Tencent Holdings and WeChat have removed virtual reality (VR) and non-fungible token (NFT) platforms from their respective websites and app stores over the past few weeks in what industry observers say is a move to avoid further scrutiny and potential government regulation.
The crackdown comes after regulators in China announced plans to shut down websites that offer virtual coin trading and ICOs. The move is a sign that the government is becoming increasingly concerned with the potential for financial scams and market manipulation that have been facilitated through the use of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
