Amid the hype around non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in 2022, buyers in China flooded the nation’s main regulator with complaints about scams and price manipulation, with official complaints surging 30,000% to 59,700 from 198 in 2021. The report on NFTs comes a day before the World Consumer Rights Day in China.

Most complaints involved failure to receive items after purchase, refund issues, price manipulation, and high transaction fees, according to a report on the social media account of the State Administration for Market Regulation on Tuesday.

The report precedes World Consumer Rights Day on March 15, an annual event where China’s media and authorities single out cases of market abuse. At the event last year, China’s watchdogs reported multiple cryptocurrency-related scams.

(By TOM ZUO)