The E-commerce platform, AliExpress, is launching 5,555 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) sales in collaboration with The Moment3 on June 25. The company announced the partnership via its official Twitter handle on Thursday, June 8.
Although AliExpress deleted the post shortly after posting it, Twitter users can still see it on The Moment3’s account. The partnership project marks another step in AliExpress’ effort to expand into the Web3 space.
AliExpress Accelerates Web3 and Crypto Plans
AliExpress is a giant in the global e-commerce industry and a subsidiary of China’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba Group, which has been keen on launching its business into the crypto space. In June 2022, Alibaba Cloud launched a service that helps build NFT marketplaces. At the time, the firm said the solution addresses compliance issues, enabling a fast and reliable option for building NFT marketplaces.
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The NFT solution included web hosting, instant messaging, and global Content Delivery Network (CDN) service. The CDN service allows data distribution throughout Alibaba Cloud’s service nodes worldwide. And its recent partner, Moment3, is an NFT project that connects real-world businesses with Web3.
The Moment3 offers NFT owners benefits beyond mere collectibles. Through the latest partnership, users can now shop Moment themes on AliExpress. It is not AliExpress’ first attempt into the crypto space this year. On May 4, the e-commerce platform announced a partnership with Shopping.io.
Shopping.io is an online platform where users can shop and pay with cryptocurrencies on top e-commerce stores like eBay and Walmart. Through the partnership, AliExpress can now accept several cryptocurrencies as payments. It added the meme coin FLOKI to the list of supported digital assets on May 31.
Legal Standing of NFTs Trading In China
Although Alibaba Group’s headquarter is in China, the company does not serve customers in mainland China. Its services are designated for international customers, explaining why the firm can accept crypto payments despite the Chinese government’s ban on cryptocurrency transactions.
China banned all crypto transactions in September 2021, while the government has also issued several warnings on the risks of NFTs speculation. In a recent development, China’s top prosecuting body, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China, also voiced several warnings about NFTs.
The legal agency highlighted the risks associated with NFT markets, emphasizing the need legal framework for the asset class. The May 15 publication noted that NFTs are likely to cause multiple risks, including financial, management, network security, and so on, especially legal risks.
The Procuratorate noted that the NFT market in China is still in its early stages and lacks standards and clear regulations. A public prosecutor and one of the article’s authors, Wang Xia-fen, explained that NFTs trading in China could pose multiple financial risks, including illegal fundraising, scams, and price manipulation.