
Chinese state media Xinhua has launched 'digital collectibles' and decided to jump on the non-fungible token (NFT) bandwagon.
In a bid to boost blockchain technology, the news agency will issue a digital media photo collection via NFTs.
It said that the collection would "imprint digital memories into the metaverse."
Shares of Chinese companies that are associated with the augmented reality experienced a rise in their shares after the announcement was made.
Augmented reality firm Goertek jumped 6 per cent while online gaming company Perfect World gained nearly 4 per cent.
Earlier, the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), had called NFT as a “zero-sum game hyped by cryptocurrency investors and capital”.
It had flagged ‘fraud’ risks after Chinese President Xi Jinping's government had banned cryptocurrency trading and mining.
Meanwhile, The Securities Times, also an official media outlet, has previously called the metaverse, a shared space based on virtual reality technologies, "a grand and illusionary concept."
However, it appears that Beijing now wants to open the door for listed Chinese companies to issue announcements that tie future business plans to the concept.
Previously, media firm 36kr Holdings gave away 1,124 metaverse-themed digital collectibles at a conference in Shenzhen.
Ant Group, an affiliate company of the Chinese Alibaba Group, founded by Jack Ma, is already exploring and applying NFT technologies.
(With inputs from agencies)