China: >59,000 NFT-related complaints in 2022, claims regulator

• China’s top market regulator received more than 59,000 complaints related to NFTs in 2022
• Complaints mentioned market manipulation, high fess, non-delivery, non-refunds etc.

The market for non-fungible tokens in China saw a boom last year. However, it seems that the growth in demand came with problems of its own. The country’s State Administration for Market Regulation has released a report ahead of the World Consumer Rights Day. It revealed that the regulator received thousands of complaints related to NFTs in 2022. 

30,000% increase in complaints in 2022

According to the report, which was released on the State Administration for Market Regulation’s social media account, the regulator noted a 30,00% hike in the number of complaints. The complaints related to NFTs rose from 198 in 2021 to a whopping 59,700 in 2022. A majority of the complaints pertained to price manipulation, exorbitant transaction fees, issues with refunds, random banning of customer accounts and non-delivery after purchase. 

The regulator’s report comes a day before World Consumer Rights Day, which has previously been used by Chinese authorities and media to take on cases of malpractices in the market. The Shanghai police, Beijing TV, and Beijing’s banking and insurance watchdog used the 2021 event to highlight the fraud taking place in the crypto space.

“I believe that China will be even stricter in regulating and cracking down on cryptocurrencies, as well as fraud in the name of blockchain. It’s also a global trend,” Liu Yang, a partner at Chinese law firm DeHeng, said at the time. 

China’s ban on crypto-trading seems to have had little effect on the trading of digital art collectibles in the country. The NFT market is a gray area in China, with regulators and media agencies often bashing the market due to the financial risks associated with it. The lack of regulation and regulatory clarity surrounding this space led to an exodus of Chinese NFT platforms. These platforms are reportedly heading to the more liberal digital asset market of Hong Kong.