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09.14.22
 

EDITOR'S NOTE
Soul App, which debuted it first digital collectible series Soul-Morbius last week, may not be considered a pioneer in this emerging industry. Some might even say it chose a bad time to enter this industry, considering China's increasingly strict regulatory environment. However, despite these headwinds, Soul’s debut was a success, with nearly 200,000 people making reservations two days before its launch and the first round of NFTs selling out within minutes. It's a win chalked up to Soul's “PFP + Social + Metaverse” model, its social features, and big user base, in addition to the app's grasp of its target audiences’ interests and needs. 

If you have any feedback or China-related crypto news to share for potential coverage, please reach out to Yifan Liu at yifan@jingculturecommerce.com.

DIGITAL COLLECTIBLES


News about China-based platforms and digital collectible drops

Image: Soul App

SOUL-MOBIUS BY SOUL APP
On September 9, Soul App, a Chinese social media platform popular among young audiences, launched its first digital collectible series Soul-Mobius, which swiftly sold out. This collection consists of 12 basic PFPs, packaged with related benefits, with a total of 15,996 editions released at prices ranging from ¥108 to ¥158. They can be used and interacted with on the Soul App as profile photos. This debut also marks the upgrade of Soul’s social metaverse and business model. To further develop its digital collectible arm, Soul also plans to launch 3D collectibles and collaborate with artists in the future.


GUANGMING DIGITAL COLLECTION PLATFORM BY GMW.CN
The Guangming Digital Collection Platform, operated by GMW.cn, was officially launched on September 9. This blockchain-based platform was built for Chinese cultural departments at all levels and the intangible cultural heritage sector. It will also serve as an important channel for collectors to purchase digital collectibles related to museums and intangible cultural heritage. On September 10, in time for Mid-Autumn Festival, this platform launched a series of “Digital Mooncakes” to celebrate traditional Chinese culture. 


TXPC X ART TOKYO GLOBAL
On September 12, TXPC (Shanghai) Network Technology Company signed a partnership agreement with Art Tokyo Global Pte Ltd. Together, they will launch ATG’s first “immersive NFT art film" and distribute digital collectibles related to the film. The partnership is said to continue with other strategic projects in China regarding the integration of film with the metaverse technologies and NFT.


BENGBA APP IN CLOSED BETA TESTING
On September 2, the Bengba App launched in beta. This mobile application combines the platform’s gameplay features with digital collection services, using dancing and fitness as core elements to form an interactive video ecosystem. Bengba has further established a partnership with Wow Yeah, a Chinese digital art and metaverse development platform, and its app is expected to be launched for public testing in the winter of 2022.
YOUWU DIGITAL COLLECTION PLATFORM'S REWARDS PROGRAM
The Alibaba-backed Youwu Digital Collection Platform recently announced the launch of the Searching for Koi in the Golden September rewards program. For the first time, people who have purchased any digital collectibles on Youwu in September will have the opportunity to synthesize "Super You Tickets” or receive thousands of yuan’s worth of gift cards. Youwu has also released two digital collectibles series featuring Chinese masters’ artworks, both of which have corresponding “You Tickets" as giveaways.
BSN LAUNCHES SPARTAN NETWORK
China’s state-backed Blockchain Service Network (BSN) has officially launched Spartan Network, a public blockchain infrastructure project that allows businesses outside mainland China to be able to mint NFTs without the involvement of cryptocurrencies. More than 10 Hong Kong companies have become the first users of this network, including HSBC, the Emperor Group, and the Lan Kwai Fong Group.

IN THE METAVERSE


What's happening in China's billion-dollar metaverse industry

Image: Migu Culture Technology

XIAMEN IN THE METAVERSE
From September 8 to 11, the 22nd China International Fair for Investment and Trade was held in Xiamen. During the fair, CMCC’s Migu Culture Technology Company launched a series of metaverse activities under the title, Garden on the Sea, Meta-Dream in Xiamen (海上花园·元梦厦门 ). Based on the creative designs of numerous local metaverse enterprises, this event connected the virtual world with the physical city of Xiamen, creating the first city-spanning immersive metaverse experience through technologies including AR and naked-eye 3D.


YY LIVE ENTERS BAIDU XIRANG
Popular interactive livestream platform YY LIVE has officially entered the metaverse of Baidu XiRang and launched its first livestream experience hall. This space will provide a complete one-stop experience of various livestream content, including music, dance performances, talk shows, PGC programs, talent shows, and other popular content by YY's artists and leading influencers. In addition, YY LIVE also collaborated with Baidu to create the first metaverse music contest show, Super Music Fair(超能音乐汇),” which went live on September 9.

REGULATORY MOVES


How crypto policies and regulations are shaping up in China

Image: 2022 Jiangsu (Nanjing) Copyright Trade Fair / TheOne.art
SELF-DISCIPLINE REQUIREMENTS ON RE-REGULATING THE HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL COLLECTIONS
China Mobile Communications Association Metaverse Consensus Circle, the China Communications Industry Association Blockchain Specialized Committee, and the Metaverse Intelligence Committee of the Zhongguancun Big Data Industry Association jointly released the “Self-Discipline Requirements on Re-regulating the Healthy Development of Digital Collectibles”. It requires that, without permission, centralized transactions, continuous listing transactions, standardized contract transactions, and other services can not be used for digital collections. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and Ether cannot be used as a valuation and settlement tool for NFT trading, and illegal financial practices like disguised ICO and virtual currency speculation should cease.
NCAC CRACKS DOWN ON UNAUTHORIZED IP USE
According to Xinhua News, the National Copyright Administration of The People's Republic of China (NCAC), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China, and the Cyberspace Administration of China recently collaboratively launched the Sword Network 2022 (剑网2022) special action to crack down on online copyright infringement and piracy. This action targets four major aspects, one of which is to strengthen the copyright regulations on NFT or digital collectibles and other emerging online business models, cracking down on the unauthorized use of intellectual properties to mint NFTs and produce digital collectibles.

IN THE STATS


The latest data and research into China's Web3 market

Image: Compiled based on the data from Sina VR and QCC

2022 METAVERSE INVESTMENT AND FINANCING MID-YEAR REPORT
Sina VR and QCC Research Institute have jointly released the 2022 Metaverse Investment and Financing Mid-year Report. According to the report, since 2022, the global metaverse market has become more active in terms of investment and financing, with significant growth in both quantity and scale.

In the first half of the year, the total amount of global investment and financing in this market exceeded 32 billion yuan (2.3 times the total amount in 2021), and the total number of related investments was 205 (3.2 times the total number in 2021). Metaverse financing in China has also hit ¥4.276 billion, accounting for 13.26 percent of global metaverse financing. 

When it comes to the development of metaverse-related enterprises, Chinese enterprises have mostly focused on the field of AR/VR technology. Their involvement in NFT, blockchain games, or other financing projects has also been cautious and compliant, in accordance to strict domestic regulations. Two Chinese enterprises feature among the top 10 metaverse enterprises in terms of financing scale in the first half of 2022, their focus trained on on chip and content consumption respectively, while the other eight overseas enterprises are all focused on NFT, cryptocurrency, or metaverse games.

KEY VOICES


Quotable insights from industry players

Image:Deloitte China has held a summit in the metaverse to discuss metaverse applications 

"Enterprises haven’t made sufficient use of metaverse models. There are many different categories of metaverse models, such as digital twin, virtual world, digital collectibles, digital human, and so on. But the use of the metaverse is currently limited to the application of virtual space, NFT, or digital human."
— Wang Jiahua (王嘉华), Leader Partner, The Metaverse Center of Deloitte China

As pointed out by Wang during the 2022 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, metaversal applications by enterprises remains limited. There's not been enough brand integration when using virtual products, a lack of emotional or value connection, and not enough of big-picture or overall planning. In addition, Wang also noted that there are five core values that will drive the metaverse forward, including experience, creativity, promoting efficiency in the real world, discovering new wealth or equity, and value recognition. 

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