Li Ning, a leading Chinese sportswear and equipment company headquartered in Beijing, is set to release a line of clothing featuring images of the Bored Ape Yacht Club #4102, as the brand looks to take advantage of the growing popularity of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
See related article: Chinese Communist Party paper to “develop” NFTs
Fast facts
- Li Ning will be selling T-shirts and caps with prints of the BAYC image, the company announced Sunday on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform.
- In the first quarter of this year, the brand recorded a nearly 30% year-on-year increase in retail sales, according to a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week.
- Anta, a Chinese sportswear brand that was an official partner of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, jumped on the NFT bandwagon earlier this year when it released a series of digital collectibles featuring the national athletic team.
- China has yet to set clear regulations on NFT trading, but state media have issued opinion pieces warning of hype and exaggeration that could unfavorably impact on the development of the NFT market.
- Earlier this month, China’s banking and securities industry lobbies urged members to “resolutely curb” the “financialization and securitization” wave of NFTs.
See related article: China’s Communist Party wants to regulate NFTs
