Bing Dwen Dwen becomes an NFT

Bing Dwen Dwen, the hugely popular Winter Olympics mascot that has sold out as a toy, is now an NFT and attracting attention from investors. 

Why it matters

The success of the chubby panda in an ice suit is testament not only to the impact of viral marketing activity – the Sydney Morning Herald reports 20% of the social accounts sending 30,000 tweets about it were created in the last month – but also to the desire of officialdom to highlight China’s digital economy.

What’s happening 

• Bing Dwen Dwen merchandise is in short supply, partly because of the Spring Festival Holiday.
• Officially licensed non-fungible token (NFT) digital pins involving multiple designs of Bing Dwen Dwen performing various winter sports have been released.
• 500 mystery boxes each contain three NFTs of different levels of rarity.
• Crypto investors expect the value of the NFT pins to increase at least threefold, 

Key quote

“The application of digital technology on the one hand benefits IP protection and is conducive for preservation; on the other, it also reaches more international audiences and accelerates the conveying of the Olympic spirit and China’s soft power,” Wang Peng, a professor at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

Sourced from Global Times, South China Morning Post, Sydney Morning Herald [Image: IOC]