Shanghai Residents Turn To NFT To Document ‘Unerasable’ COVID Memorabilia

Share This Post

Shanghai is the largest and most populated city in China (with over 25 million residents) that has now tapped the power of blockchain technology to preserve and safeguard the events of the COVID-19 lockdown in the city.

Numerous videos, photos, and audio are now stored as non-fungible tokens that can now be bought and sold in NFT marketplaces using cryptocurrencies; avoiding censorship.  

Residents of Shanghai are using NFTs as a way to express their dismay with China’s zero-tolerance COVID policies knowing that NFTs run on blockchain technology and hence, can’t be deleted.

A growing number of Shanghai residents are taking to the streets to protest China's zero-tolerance policy on COVID. (Image credit: Coda Story)

Suggested Reading | Aloha Crypto! Hawaii Approves Task Force To Regulate Bitcoin And Web3 Technology

Simon Fong On His Propaganda NFT Art Collection

One of the NFT designers is a 49-year-old freelance graphic designer, Simon Fong. He has been a resident of Shanghai for over nine years. He started creating graphic designs that illustrate Shanghai residents’ lives while on lockdown and taking some cues from the Mao-ear posters around.

Fong has chosen the style of Mao-era propaganda which includes scenes depicting the events happening during the zero-tolerance COVID lockdowns.

Pictures include PCR testing processes and also the hunger experienced by residents who are now asking for food rations from the government.

It seems that these rampant COVID lockdowns are just taking the country further backward. The Propaganda collection posters created in April can now be bought at OpenSea, an NFT marketplace.

Suggested Reading | Singapore Restaurants Accepting Crypto Payments Amid Legislative Resistance

Each NFT artwork by Fong represents stories that are inspired by real-life events and sprinkled with light humor.

Fong was interviewed recently by Yahoo News and mentioned that his favorite piece in the Propaganda art collection is the one with the title “Stay Negative.”

Crypto total market cap at $1.75 trillion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com

Most people would tell you on a regular day to always think and stay positive. However, it seems with the current COVID situation, the only way to beat the disease and stay alive is to stay negative.

Fong has now sold over 10 NFT items, each selling at an average of $287 or 0.1 ETH.

‘The Voice of April’ Now an NFT

In the middle of the COVID lockdowns in Shanghai, “The Voice of April” was launched on YouTube which showcased heartbreaking video footage of people crying and shouting from their homes in the face of the COVID lockdowns.

However, the video was banned for unknown reasons even if it contained actual or factual events. There was no mention of any individual or government officials, to begin with, that may have prompted its removal or censorship. It was not even in violation of any laws.

That particular video has now been minted and turned into an NFT and is available at the OpenSea NFT marketplace. In that way, that memory is forever preserved.

Featured image from Wall Street Journal, chart from TradingView.com
Read Entire Article
spot_img
- Advertisement -spot_img

Related Posts

$33.14 Billion At Risk If The Bitcoin Price Hits $72,462, Here’s Why

Crypto analyst Ash Crypto has alerted the crypto community that $3314 billion is at risk if the Bitcoin price reaches $72,462 This relates to the short positions that could be liquidated if the

Post halving, Bitcoin miners are choosing between hodling BTC and upgrading to AI

After the Bitcoin halving took place in April, major Bitcoin miners have increasingly started choosing one of two strategies — either hodl the BTC they mine or gear up with artificial intelligence

Trial Postponed for Jailed Ex-US Federal Agent After Court No-Show

A Nigerian court has adjourned the trial of Tigran Gambaryan, a jailed Binance executive, due to his illness Gambaryan, a US citizen and former federal agent, missed a scheduled court appearance

Ripple CEO Praises the State of Cryptocurrency Regulation in Brazil

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, a payments and cryptocurrency service provider, has praised the state of cryptocurrency regulation in Brazil, one of the largest crypto markets in Latam In an

Beyond Hacks: Understanding and managing economic risks in DeFi

The following is a guest article from Vincent Maliepaard, Marketing Director at IntoTheBlock Economic risks have led to nearly $60 billion in losses across DeFi protocols While this number may seem

Powell’s Legacy, the Ethics of ‘Doxing’, and Uptober or Rektober

This editorial is from last week’s edition of the newsletter Week in Review Subscribe to the newsletter to get this weekly editorial the second it’s finished The newsletter also includes the