South China Morning Post (SCMP) To Spin-off NFT Unit After Strong Sales

Hong Kong newspaper The South China Morning Submit (SCMP) mentioned on Wednesday it would spin off its NFT-related enterprise right into a separate firm. The unit, referred to as Artifact Labs, will likely be headed by SCMP’s present CEO Gary Liu.

The move comes after Hong Kong’s oldest English newspaper efficiently launched an NFT assortment of iconic moments from its archives earlier this week. The gathering featured the newspaper’s protection of Hong Kong in 1997- a pivotal yr for town because it was handed again to China by the British.

The gathering reportedly sold out in two hours this Monday, netting the corporate about $126,000. It was constructed on the Movement community, which is run by in style NFT agency Dapper Labs.

Artifact Labs will focus mainly on turning historic artwork, pictures and information from SCMP’s archives into tradeable NFTs and collectibles.  The agency mentioned {that a} second assortment will likely be launched in April this yr.

We count on that thousands and thousands of individuals will personal ARTIFACTs issued by media, historic and cultural organizations around the globe, and that historic NFTs would be the gateway for a lot of customers into Web3.

-SCMP CEO Gary Liu

SCMP mentioned it would proceed to be a stakeholder in Artifact, and also will search third-party financing to develop the agency.

NFT curiosity continues to develop in 2022

After an astronomical yr of development via 2021, the NFT trade has continued to increase this yr, attracting extra institutional and celeb traders. Most not too long ago, card operator American Categorical was seen submitting emblems for NFTs and the metaverse.

Bored Ape Yatch Membership NFTs have continued to promote for hundreds of {dollars}, whereas celebrities corresponding to LeBron James, Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg have all made forays into the house.

A slew of main funding homes have additionally introduced plans to purchase into, or arrange their very own NFT marketplaces.

NFTs are additionally among the many few hyperlinks to crypto that survived China’s crackdown on the house. Known as “digital collectibles” by regulation, their rising recognition within the nation has seen a number of main corporations, together with tech giants Alibaba and Tencent, enterprise into the house.

Alibaba Group can be the proprietor of SCMP.