Beijing Poly International Auction teased an online auction of 32 NBA Top Shot non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including collectibles of basketball stars Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving, with starting prices ranging from 100 yuan (about US$15) to 50,000 yuan (US$ 7,471).
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Fast facts
- The Chinese auction house said on a Weibo social media post on Thursday that the NBA Top Shot NFTs will appear in a public auction for the first time in mainland China on Sunday since the collection’s debut in June 2020.
- Beijing Poly International Auction is a subsidiary of state-backed enterprise the China Poly Group Corporation, and is the third-largest auction house in the world behind Sotheby’s and Christie’s, according to the South China Morning Post.
- The highest starting bid for a single NFT is for a dunk highlight of Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown from April 11, 2021, one of 99 identical cards, with a starting bid of 40,000 yuan (US$5,976).
- Bidders can only pay with Chinese fiat, the RMB, and will be charged 13% of the winning bid in commission.
- The NBA has reportedly lost “hundreds of millions” of dollars in revenue following a 2019 fallout with Beijing, but China’s state media outlet CCTV’s recently ended an 18-month broadcasting blackout.
- NBA Top Shot has blocked mainland China access, which has not been lifted as of press time.
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