In China, digital collections have emerged as the “regulated domestic version of NFTs,” combining the technical logic of non-fungible tokens with strict compliance requirements to avoid the financial risks of overseas NFTs. Unlike unregulated overseas NFTs that may involve virtual currency trading or speculative 炒作，domestic digital collections focus on cultural dissemination, brand empowerment, and asset digitization—all under the supervision of domestic regulatory authorities. As of 2025, the domestic digital collection market has grown into a $50 billion industry, with platforms, creators, and users all operating within clear regulatory boundaries.

What is a Domestic Digital Collection?

A domestic digital collection is a unique digital asset issued based on domestic alliance chains (such as Alibaba’s AntChain, Tencent’s YueChain, and the national blockchain service network BSN). It uses blockchain technology to confirm ownership and trace circulation, but differs fundamentally from overseas NFTs:

• It does not have financial attributes such as “virtual currency pricing” or “unrestricted secondary market trading”;
• Its value mainly comes from cultural connotation, collection significance, or brand endorsement, rather than speculative price fluctuations;
• It must comply with domestic policies such as “prohibiting financialization and securitization” to ensure the healthy development of the market.

Typical domestic digital collections include digital artworks (e.g., museum cultural relics digitization), virtual cultural and tourism souvenirs (e.g., scenic spot digital tickets), brand virtual peripherals (e.g., beverage brand limited-edition digital badges), and even digital versions of physical products (e.g., digital certificates for luxury goods anti-counterfeiting).

Core Regulatory Requirements for Domestic Digital Collections

Since 2022, domestic regulatory authorities (including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and the People’s Bank of China) have issued a series of policies to standardize the digital collection market. The key regulatory requirements are as follows:

1. Technical Compliance: Must be issued and circulated on domestic alliance chains, not allowed to use overseas public chains (such as Ethereum) to avoid cross-border regulatory risks;
2. Trading Restrictions: Secondary market trading is strictly restricted—most platforms only allow “one-time transfer” (e.g., transferring to family members as gifts) and prohibit commercial resale; individual platforms that open secondary markets must obtain special regulatory approval and implement strict real-name authentication and transaction limit mechanisms;
3. Prohibition of Financialization: It is not allowed to link with virtual currencies (e.g., pricing in BTC/ETH), nor to launch financial products such as “digital collection mortgages” or “installment purchases”;
4. Content Compliance: The content of digital collections must conform to national cultural policies, not involve illegal, vulgar, or speculative themes; cultural and cultural relics-related collections must be reviewed by cultural relics departments;
5. Platform Qualification: Digital collection trading platforms must obtain business licenses (such as Internet information service licenses) and file with local regulatory authorities; overseas institutions are not allowed to engage in domestic digital collection business without approval.

Differences Between Domestic Digital Collections and Overseas NFTs

Many users confuse digital collections with overseas NFTs, but the two have obvious differences under regulatory constraints:

Dimension	Domestic Digital Collection	Overseas NFT
Blockchain Foundation	Domestic alliance chains (centralized supervision, high security)	Overseas public chains (decentralized, difficult to supervise)
Trading Model	Primary market issuance + restricted one-time transfer; secondary market is strictly regulated	Free secondary market trading, supporting virtual currency pricing
Value Orientation	Cultural dissemination, brand marketing, asset digitization (non-speculative)	Financial investment, speculative trading (high price volatility)
Regulatory Status	Clear policies, standardized operations	Most countries have not yet formed unified supervision (high risk)
User Participation	Real-name authentication is mandatory; transaction amounts are limited	Anonymous participation is allowed; no transaction limits

Main Application Scenarios of Domestic Digital Collections

Under regulatory guidance, domestic digital collections have been widely used in multiple fields, focusing on “non-speculative” value realization:

1. Cultural Heritage Protection: Museums and cultural institutions issue digital collections of cultural relics to promote cultural dissemination. For example, the Palace Museum launched “Digital Palace Museum Cultural Relics” series, allowing users to collect digital versions of cultural relics such as the “Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival” and learn about their historical background;
2. Cultural and Tourism Integration: Scenic spots and cultural and tourism departments issue digital tickets or virtual souvenirs. For example, the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes launched “Digital Caves” collections—users who purchase them can enjoy exclusive virtual tour services of the grottoes;
3. Brand Marketing: Enterprises launch digital collections as brand peripherals to enhance user stickiness. For example, beverage brands issue limited-edition digital badges with product purchases, and users can collect and display them on social platforms;
4. Public Welfare Publicity: Public welfare organizations issue public welfare digital collections, and part of the proceeds are used for public welfare projects. For example, the Red Cross launched “Public Welfare Star” collections to raise funds for disaster relief.

Risk Tips for Participating in the Digital Collection Market

For ordinary users, participating in the domestic digital collection market needs to pay attention to the following risks to avoid losses:

1. Choose Regular Platforms: Avoid using unfiled or overseas platforms—check whether the platform has a business license and blockchain filing information (available on the BSN official website);
2. Beware of Speculative Hypes: Do not believe in “high-yield” or “price appreciation guarantees”—domestic digital collections are not investment products, and excessive pursuit of price increases may lead to losses;
3. Verify Collection Authenticity: Check whether the collection has official authorization (e.g., museum cooperation certificates, brand authorization letters) to avoid purchasing counterfeit collections;
4. Protect Personal Information: Real-name authentication is required for platform registration, so choose platforms with good data security capabilities to avoid information leakage.

Future Development Trend of Domestic Digital Collections

With the gradual improvement of regulatory policies, the domestic digital collection market will develop in a more standardized and professional direction:

• Regulatory Refinement: More detailed rules on secondary market transactions and cross-platform circulation will be introduced to further reduce market risks;
• Technology Integration: The combination of AI and digital collections will become more common—for example, AI-generated digital artworks with unique cultural connotations;
• Industry Integration: It will be more deeply integrated with 实体经济 such as manufacturing and agriculture, such as digital collections for product anti-counterfeiting and traceability;
• Cultural Going Global: Compliance-based “domestic digital collections going global” will be promoted, using blockchain technology to spread Chinese excellent culture to the world.

In short, domestic digital collections are not “copies” of overseas NFTs, but a localized innovation under regulatory guidance—they retain the technical advantages of blockchain for asset confirmation, while avoiding financial risks, and become an important carrier for digital cultural dissemination and 实体经济 empowerment.