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Alipay Adds Cooldown Feature on NFTs to Curb Speculation
China's second-most popular payments app doesn't want users to engage in speculation with NFTs.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:38 p.m. Published Aug 11, 2021, 11:26 a.m.
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Chinese payments app Alipay is now requiring users to hold onto non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for at least 180 days before they can transfer them, Chinese media reported.
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- Alipay updated the terms for use of its NFT marketplace "mini-program," an app within the super-app, AI Caijing reported today.
- Alipay, which is China's second-most popular payments app, says the mini-program shouldn't be used for speculation.
- Users can send NFTs only to accounts that have passed real-name verification, the terms said.
- The terms also state that the copyright of digital works belongs to the creator or issuer and that buyers can't use them for commercial purposes without consent.
- The mini-program caters primarily to fans who want to buy NFTs of celebrity memorabilia.
- The NFT market globally has been picking up, with marketplaces hitting all-time records in transaction volumes.
- Chinese financial regulators are vehemently opposed to market speculation, a stance they have often reiterated with regards to the highly volatile crypto markets.
- Ant Group, Alipay's parent company, has been trying to "rectify" its standing with regulators for almost a year, after its initial public offering was abruptly halted last year.
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