UN approves NFT standards proposed by Tencent, Ant Group: report

The United Nations specialized agency for telecommunications standardization, ITU-T, has approved a non-fungible token (NFT) technical framework proposed by Chinese tech giants including Tencent Holdings and Ant Group, state-owned media reported.  

Fast facts

• The framework, which introduces an NFT standard, proposes technical and security requirements for digital collectibles on the blockchain. 
• The international standards approved by ITU-T are now referenced recommendations, and become mandatory only when adopted by national laws of different nations.

• The initiative’s first draft is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, and the final draft will be finished next year before submission, according to a report from South China Morning Post.

• The initiative project is led by Internet giant Tencent and supported by entities including Ant Group, China Academy of Information and Communication Research (CAICT), Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and Zhejiang Lab, a research institute backed by Zhejiang province.

• In China, the phrase “digital collectibles” is often used to avoid references to NFTs due to state media’s criticism of the non-fungible token (NFT) frenzy. 

• China’s crypto ban has discouraged Chinese firms from using public blockchains for NFTs, but local tech leaders have developed their own blockchains for non-crypto NFTs.