Can digital assets become a major asset class like houses, stocks, and funds?

Source: Beijing Youth Daily Editor: Bo Wen

On February 5, 2025,Beijing Youth Daily reported on "Digital Assets" in the front page and on the entire A4 page.From the perspective of young people, it reported on the development of the "Digital Assets" industry, investment stories, and the participation of social forces.

The article discusses whether "digital assets" have the potential to become a major asset class like houses, stocks, funds, and gold; at the same time, it mentions that my country's "digital asset" market is starting from the level of industry collaborative autonomy, gradually building a circulation environment, and is expected to form a standardized market; banks and large enterprises, such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Ant Digital Technology, and GCL Group, have begun to get involved in the field of digital assets, releasing digital collections or carrying out RWA projects.

The various measures mentioned in great detail by domestic media indicate that the application of digital assets is gradually expanding and gradually penetrating into a wider range of industries and fields; it also indicates that the "wind direction" of domestic supervision may change faster, and more opportunities worthy of attention may be born in China in the near future.

The following is the full report

With the arrival of 2025, people began to review the performance of various major asset classes in the past year. Among the traditional major asset classes, stocks and funds were once the most discussed investment targets among young people, but since 2024, a wave of "digital asset" investment has quietly emerged among young people. "Digital assets" generally refer to artworks, collectibles or treasures in digital form, and their uniqueness, immutability and ownership are ensured by blockchain technology. Compared with traditional physical assets, owning "digital assets" does not require cumbersome logistics and warehousing links.

Why do young people favor "digital assets"? Can "digital assets" become a major asset class like houses, stocks, funds, and gold? What are the highlights of "digital assets" as an emerging thing?

Young people at the digital art exhibition

From the end of last year to January 10 this year, Whale Exploration, the largest "digital asset" platform in China, held a digital art exhibition in Shanghai. Walking into the exhibition area, the giant whale leaping from the deep sea attracted the audience to "fish" and punch in. The rock-flavored Sanxingdui Bronze Band, the colorful Dunhuang Feitian, the cat from the Sphinx galaxy... These digital collections are sought after by young collectors because each one has a special blockchain code, unique and tamper-proof.

A junior student from Fudan University named "Lavis" said that he used to be a fan of offline trendy toys, but now his house is full of physical collections and he can hardly move his feet. Since he came into contact with the "digital assets" platform of Jingtan, he feels like he has discovered a new world. He can enjoy the treasures he has collected on his mobile phone at any time, and the way of trading and exchanging is much more convenient than physical objects. "I originally planned to write a graduation thesis on Pop Mart, but now I think the topic of 'digital assets' is more challenging."

In the "Culture" theme exhibition, the "Dajing Museum" series created by the National Trend Art Research Institute of the China Academy of Art has made a youthful design for elements such as ancient architectural furniture, Chinese time-honored brands, and national treasures such as giant pandas. Users can use collections to create their own digital museums and open them to other users for visits and income.

Talking about the significance of promoting national trends, Professor Ni Bin, Dean of the National Trend Art Research Institute of the China Academy of Art, said, "For young people, our main purpose is to spread positive Chinese traditional culture; for older people, it is difficult for them to understand millet and the two-dimensional world. We add national trend elements to them, and they like them all of a sudden. This promotes the modernization and inheritance of traditional culture and establishes national self-confidence and cultural self-confidence for a wider range of people."

Bonan, the manager of the trendy toy IP "Da Vinci's Egg", also sensed the young people's love for the national trend. They cooperated with Dunhuang Academy of Fine Arts, another partner of the Whale Tan platform, to jointly develop the WEE Cub-Dunhuang Flying Cub collection. The combination of trendy toys and cultural relics has activated the love of two types of fan groups, and 10,000 collections were sold out in seconds.

"Evidence of Presence" Left by Digital Badges

Among the many types of "digital assets", POAP commemorative badges are the most popular type among young people. It is a bit similar to the hottest "baji" (i.e. badge) in the "grain economy". POAP is the abbreviation of "Proof-Of-Attendance Protocol", which is used to record and commemorate the occurrence of specific events. POAP can be used as an easily verifiable evidence, recorded on the blockchain to prove that the user was present when the event or activity occurred. Events and activities can be in the physical world or the virtual world.

Some people collect tickets after watching movies or concerts to prove that they are loyal fans or that they have personally participated in something. The POAP badge is an online record that proves that you have participated in an event. Zhao Yan, a digital collector from Beijing, said that she is a fan of both "Baji" and POAP. Now she pays more attention to POAP. She can commemorate or show off her unique experience by displaying her POAP collection online, "leaving evidence of presence in busy urban life."

On July 22 last year, iQiyi's ace music variety show "China Rap Peak Showdown" teamed up with the ARCC platform to launch a limited edition digital badge POAP, which was sought after and loved by young people. The 12 POAP badges issued by iQIYI were minted through the ARCC digital badge platform, corresponding to the 12 episodes of "The Rap of China". The audience needs to look for hidden Easter eggs while watching the show, so as to collect fragments and synthesize the current POAP badge.

For producers, POAP can motivate users to participate more actively in various activities and events by designing unique badges and tasks. At the 10th anniversary of the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, citizens can get digital badges by checking in at the Xizha Scenic Area, the Expo Center Exhibition Center, the Wuzhen World Internet Science and Technology Museum, etc.

POAP badges provide young people with a unique identity symbol and a way of social recognition. Users can get POAP badges after participating in seminars, concerts, live broadcasts, online courses, etc. In an interview with a Beijing Youth Daily reporter, the general manager of Jingtan said that he hopes that in the future, the daily collections of 100 million users will be managed and applied in Jingtan in digital form. In the future, the "big and small events in life" of users will be saved in Jingtan in the form of digital badges (POAP). Users can open Jingtan to check in and get a digital postcard exclusive to the place wherever they travel.

The temptation of digital blind boxes

Beijing Youth Daily reporters noticed thatmany "digital assets" are issued in the form of blind boxes that young people love to see. The routines in the millet economy have also been moved to the field of "digital assets".Some "digital asset" issuers attract users to open blind boxes in large numbers by setting extremely low probabilities for rare items in blind boxes, such as 0.1%. In the second-hand trading market of "digital assets", the price gap between rare and common digital cards is very large. For example, the common digital cards issued by the Whale Tan platform may be worth only a few cents, but the second-hand price of rare UR-level cards is as high as thousands of yuan. Due to the extremely low probability of rare cards, some users cannot get rare cards even if they invest thousands of yuan.

However, digital blind boxes have a strong appeal to young people. Recently, the Whale Tan platform issued a "My Emperor Cat" - Qisi Miaoxiang Museum Series Hand-thick Ang card, and 500,000 digital cards were sold out within an hour. A user said in a WeChat community: "The probability is very low, and I also know that there is a high probability of losing money, but on the one hand, I like this IP, and on the other hand, it is difficult to resist the temptation of opening blind boxes. The more I open, the more I can't control my hands. I spent more than 5,000 yuan at a time."

Born in 2002, Zhou Qun (pseudonym), a senior student from Taizhou, Zhejiang, is an alternative among his classmates. When his classmates are keen on shopping and online shopping, he spends most of the pocket money given by his parents on buying "digital assets." I first learned about this industry from social media. "Later, by chance, I came into contact with Whale Tan and found that there are many digital collections authorized by museums with very beautiful modeling. My university major is also related to art design and modeling. These national treasure-level cultural relics "digital assets" are only sold for tens of yuan." From the end of 2022 to the present, Zhou Qun has continued to buy "digital assets" on Whale Tan. With the arrival of this round of "digital asset" bull market, the market value of "digital assets" held by Zhou Qun has also risen, and the secondary market prices of many collections have doubled several times.

However, Zhou Qun does not plan to sell these "digital assets" at present. "I plan to own these 'digital assets' for a period of 10 years and am optimistic about the development of this industry." Although Zhou Qun is an outlier among his classmates, his parents are very supportive of him. "I have discussed this industry with them specifically, and they trust and support me very much. They often help me grab the first collections."

Asset allocation shifts to "digital assets"

Beijing Youth Daily reporters noticed that some investors in the traditional calligraphy and painting fields have also begun to get involved in the "digital asset" field. At the beginning of this year, "Le Principal", a post-80s internet celebrity who focuses on sharing traditional calligraphy and painting trading experience, released a short video of "Le Principal's layout of digital collections". In the video, he bluntly stated that the traditional calligraphy and painting market is very sluggish and urgently needs digital transformation, so he decided to layout the "digital assets" field and planned to invest 1 million yuan as a trial fund. Yu Jiwei, a collector from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, who has many years of experience in collecting ancient coins, banknotes, and stamps, said that digital collection is like discovering a new world for him. Based on his decades of experience in the collection industry, digital collection is very promising. According to reports, he began to pay attention to digital collections in early 2022. The total amount of personal "digital assets" held has exceeded 350,000 pieces, and the investment has exceeded 10 million yuan, and he is still continuing to increase his positions.

As the chairman of Zhejiang Yijin Group, Yu Jiwei also set up a "Digital Asset Operation Department" in the company to coordinate and manage its "digital asset" investment projects worth tens of millions of yuan. The person in charge of a new third board listed company also said that a "digital asset operation department" will be established in the near future to increase the layout of the new "digital asset" field. Whale Tan's "digital assets" have also attracted the attention of some private equity fund managers, and many private equity professionals have conducted market research on Whale Tan's "digital assets". A private equity fund manager born in the 1980s in Shenzhen told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that as more and more young people begin to accept "digital assets", they are considering setting up a private equity fund with "digital assets" as the investment target.

On September 22 last year, the total market value of the "Whale 50 Index" collections compiled by users in the circle on the over-the-counter trading platform was 129.85 million yuan. As of January 31, 2025, the total market value of the "Whale 50 Index" collections was close to 500 million yuan, an increase of 280%. Some million-level funds have already regarded "digital assets" as a new type of asset allocation in addition to real estate, stocks, funds, and gold.

On New Year's Eve this year, a "post-00" complained in the "digital asset" exchange community that he began to study investment and financial management after graduating from college. At first, he bought funds, and later stocks. After a few years of tossing, he found that the markets in these two fields were already very mature and institutions had the pricing power. "We retail investors face well-armed quantitative institutions every day. It is very difficult to make money. Throwing tens of thousands of dollars in is like a drop of rain into the ocean. But 'digital assets' are an undeveloped virgin land. I often tell my friends that engaging in 'digital assets' now is a bit like buying stocks in the 1990s, full of unknowns, challenges and hopes." Data exchanges have opened a 'digital asset' section. Beijing Youth Daily reporters noted that GF Securities once stated in a research report that my country's 'digital asset' market has begun to build a standardized circulation environment from the level of industry collaborative autonomy, forming a similar environment to overseas NFTs. The development path of differentiated industry ecology is expected to form a standardized circulation environment for the "digital asset" market in the future, and continue to develop innovative digital collections to amplify the marketing value and copyright value of cultural digital content, opening up a broad blueprint for the development of my country's "digital asset" industry.

Since last year, data exchanges in various places have set up "digital asset" trading sections. The "digital asset" section of the Shanghai Data Exchange has become a dark horse in the field of "digital asset" trading. Its first "digital asset" "Longyao Chasing Light, One 'Order' Light", "Beijing CBD International Group-National First Batch of Data Assets List Commemoration" and "Digital Asset" Commemorative Medals have been popular in the market.

Shanghai Data Exchange has also recently issued the first RWA project in the agricultural field-the "Malu Grape RWA" project, and completed 10 million yuan in equity financing. Zhejiang Cultural Property Exchange has also launched "digital asset" trading business. Zhejiang Cultural Exchange Center stated that it will explore the application and circulation scenarios of cultural "digital assets" to empower the real economy based on the successful IP transformation case of the National Library of Editions in Hangzhou.

Since 2022, 13 banks represented by ICBC have also officially announced their entry into the digital collection track. When users open the ICBC App, its latest "digital asset" is "Seeing Intangible Cultural Heritage Zisha Pot", with a total issuance of 200,000 copies, which users can receive for free. The "digital assets" it issues are mainly intangible cultural heritage projects, museum cultural creations, and digital commemorative badges. Among them, ICBC has opened a digital collection hall in the mobile banking app, which is listed in the main menu alongside deposits, transfers, etc., and it is obvious that it attaches great importance to the digital collection business.

A banker told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that as a cutting-edge field in digital payment, banks' layout of related "digital assets/digital collections" business is also a technical reserve for the further development of the blockchain metaverse and the development of digital payment business in the future. Young people's enthusiasm for "digital assets" is also an important factor in the bank's layout.

In the past year, another important type of "digital assets" that Chinese companies have been involved in is RWA. RWA, or real-world asset tokenization, refers to a form of trading the ownership of physical assets in digital form (Token) on the blockchain, similar to the "IPO" of the digital world. Last September, GCL Energy, a green energy service provider under GCL Group, China's largest private power company, and Ant Digital Technology cooperated to complete the first physical asset RWA in China's photovoltaic field. It is understood that this is the first cross-border financing of 200 million yuan that Langxin Group has successfully obtained in Hong Kong by using the new energy charging pile assets operated on its platform as RWA anchor assets. Ant Digital CEO Zhao Wenbiao said that the RWA model is like a small IPO, which can enable more small and medium-sized enterprises to connect to global funds through the blockchain network.

For related content, please refer to: Ant Digital and GCL Energy completed the issuance of over 200 million yuan of photovoltaic physical assets RWA

Beware of digital scams

As a new thing in the investment field, "digital assets" are still in the initial development stage, and their market value is unstable and volatile. It is particularly easy to lose money by chasing ups and downs. In addition, due to the unclear national policies, most of the "digital assets" currently lack a good trading environment. If investors want to learn about "digital assets", they should first choose a formal platform, such as the Whale Tan platform under Ant Group and the Shanghai Data Exchange, which have a background in large companies or state-owned assets; secondly, they should also be wary of some criminals who take advantage of citizens' curiosity about new things and commit fraud in the name of "digital assets".

The Hefei Public Security Bureau once cracked down on a fraud gang under the guise of issuing and trading "digital assets". It falsely claimed that the "digital assets issued were masterpieces of masters", but in fact they were all works from some ordinary painters, and pictures directly copied from the Internet. They have no collection value and practical value, and cannot be used in any scenario.

Disclaimer: Readers are requested to strictly abide by the laws and regulations of their location. This article does not represent any investment advice.