Third Chinese tech giant Baidu to open NFT marketplace

Baidu is airdropping over 20,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of nostalgic Chinese cartoon characters ahead of its upcoming marketplace launch by the end of March.

Fast facts

• The NFTs are inspired by “Talking Tom Cat” and “Ali,” which were popular cartoon characters in the 2010s.

• Chinese state-owned media has lashed out with warnings against NFT hype and speculation.
• Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent launched NFT marketplaces last year, but both have introduced internal rules to limit trades between users to curb speculation. 
• Despite efforts from marketplace operators to limit NFT hype, digital collectibles are still in high demand in second-hand markets.