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For example, China has banned crypto. However, China embraces blockchain technology. This goes hand in hand with NFTs. The Chinese love their NFTs. Therefore, in this article, you will discover how Forkast published a report predicting an Asian NFT dominance.
The Southeast Asian Region in an NFT Shell
growth in Asia has been on the up since 2021. For example, The Forkast report states there are 440 million people online in this part of the world. In the epicenter of it, the Axie Infinity explosion happened. Also, METAMASK has worldwide 21 million users, where the Philippines leads this market and Vietnam takes the third spot.
Source: Nathanon Khanijow ‘Jahflame
To the fact that during COVID-19 many people lost their jobs and income. All of a sudden, P2E games became a way of earning an income. Therefore, Hong Kong and Singapore looked like they were set to become crypto hubs. However, unfavorable regulation stopped this. The same happened to Thailand. Nonetheless, it appears that Hong Kong and Singapore left NFTs out of the regulations.
Also, according to the Report, they covered 20 countries from all continents. In the top 5, there are no less than 4 Asian countries. The NFT market in south-east Asia is alive and kicking.
Source:
It doesn’t come as a surprise that the Philippines take the lead. Thailand being second is a bit more of a surprise. Let alone Malaysia coming in third.
Also, another surprising fact is that Thailand has more female adaptors than males. A 7% difference. Only Venezuela has also a positive number, with 1.6%. All other countries see more men owning NFTs.
Source:
Furthermore, in Japan, the least people know what an NFT is. Finder didn’t include China in this report. However, adoption is looking good there.
Is China Adopting NFTs?
With a 1.032 billion online population, we are talking giants here. China didn’t ban NFTs. However, there are some regulations in place. For instance, they call them ‘digital collectibles’. Speculation is also a big ‘no-no’. Still, the Chinese NFT marketplace is huge.
As a result, big Chinese companies are meddling in the Chinese NFT marketplace. Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, and JD.com are all into the China NFT game. They all launched NFT trading platforms. One of the great things is that NFTs have copyrights in China. On the other hand, China has detached them from cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, there is a locking period. At Alibaba, this is 180 days. The next person in Line needs to lock the NFT for another 2 years.
Therefore, expectations are that the Chinese NFT market will grow by 150% by 2026. That means 29.52 billion yuan or $4.64 billion. For example, a popular project is Phanta Bear. It’s a collection of 10,000 ‘NFTs’. With a floor price of 0.26ETH, they sold out in 40 minutes. That is around $10 million.
Source: Phanta Bears
The Philippines, The Leader in the P2E Gaming Industry
In the Philippines, P2E come to flourish during Covid. Many people lost their jobs and found out about Axie Infinity. As a result, people started to make more money in a month than in their previous jobs. The online population in the Philippines is around 76 million.
However, it became too expensive to start in this P2E game. This saw the comeback and rise of guilds. For example, a guild lends you NFTs to start participating in a P2E game. From your rewards and winnings, you pay back the guild. Yield Guild Games is one of the earliest entering the scene and by now one of the biggest.
Source: Yield Guild Games
Thailand Likes NFTs
In Thailand, we see widespread NFT adoption. The online population in Thailand is around 54 million. Many projects are flourishing here. Although NFT trading is off the cards. Furthermore, the Thai government just banned crypto payments in daily life.
There are plans to develop ‘Adot’, a Thai NFT platform. Also, WWin group launched a unique project. Around 70% of Thais wear sacred amulets. This is a $1.25 billion yearly market. They are now offering SNFTs. Sacred NFTs. Other Thai NFT artists to look up are:
- Kiatanan Iamchan
- Pavisa Meesrenon
- Nathanon Khanijow
- Dudesweet
Source: SNFT website
South Korea is Interested in the Metaverse
In South Korea, the government got involved in metaverse plans. That means that NFTs are not far away. As a result, the whole country is finding new use cases for NFTs. During the recent presidential elections, the main candidates used NFTs. The Forkast report mentions that two universities offer graduation certificates as NFTs.
However, it is the K-pop industry that leads the way. The all-girl group Blackpink has partnered with Binance. They will use their NFT platform.
Furthermore, the country has a massive VR market. In 2024, they expect this to be worth around $2.5 billion. Remember, the government and the metaverse? Samsung and LG will offer a new TV line that allows access to NFT marketplaces. On the other hand, given all this, it is strange that they banned P2E games. Their online population is 49.75 million.
Source: BINANCE NFT marketplace
Conclusion
We provided a lot of general and per country information. It may now not come as a surprise that we tip Asia as the new worldwide NFT leader. There is a massive online population. Furthermore, we mentioned various upcoming Asian NFT projects. It looks like the Asian NFT marketplace is all set to explode.
Check also our Forkast report on NFT avatarsprogrammable NFTs
