Dialogue with ALINFT: Entering the NFT Space, Building a Fairytale Universe for Everyone
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Dialogue with ALINFT: Entering the NFT Space, Building a Fairytale Universe for Everyone
"Hoping to create a more beautiful fairy tale world, where people's hearts can occasionally come and rest." Just as Ali has always conveyed the cultural core of love and warmth, the Ali NFT team wishes to build an interactive healing space within the metaverse.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsInterview: 0xtree
Since the second half of last year, traditional IPs around the globe have begun venturing into NFTs—LV, Pepsi, GUCCI, and more. Recently, Ali, a well-known original Chinese IP with 16 years of history, has also entered the space.
Created in 2006 by Hans (Xu Han), Ali started as web and magazine comics, later expanding into illustrated storybooks and animated shorts. To date, Ali's publications have surpassed 3 million in sales and amassed tens of millions of fans online.
Since announcing the launch of its "ALI & His Friends" NFT series on January 19, ALI & HIS FRIENDS' Twitter following has surged to 100K, attracting attention from several prominent NFT collectors. This article features an interview between TechFlow and the Ali NFT team, discussing Ali’s core values, motivations for entering the NFT market, future plans, and more—offering readers deeper insight into Ali and his fairy-tale universe.
TechFlow: The official Ali Twitter says it wants to bring friends into the metaverse. What kind of metaverse is this? And who exactly counts as a friend of Ali?
ALINFT: Hans, the creator of Ali, once said: "I hope to create a better fairy-tale world where people can occasionally come and rest their hearts."
Just as Ali has always conveyed love and warmth at its cultural core, the Ali NFT team aims to build an interactive healing space within the metaverse. We believe every adult still holds a pure, innocent place in their heart—and we hope this metaverse can bring back that sense of original beauty.
Ali maintains an open attitude toward all fans. Anyone who resonates with Ali’s vision and is willing to co-build Aliverse is considered a friend. The Ali NFT team also recognizes the critical role community plays in an IP’s long-term growth. In the future, Ali may adopt a DAO governance model, allowing all ALINFT holders to participate directly in community governance.
TechFlow: How do you plan to bring existing Ali fans into ALIVERSE?
ALINFT: Currently, NFT-related concepts remain relatively niche to the broader public. But we believe this is an undeniable force that will transform how IPs operate and redefine the relationship between users and IPs.
In recent times, many traditional brands have entered the NFT space in various ways, helping raise mainstream awareness and demonstrate the value of NFTs—this is precisely what we aim to achieve. Over the years, the Ali IP has collaborated with various youth cultures and indie artists, consistently introducing diverse cultural content to the masses. Moving forward, we intend to leverage our existing influence to expose more users to NFTs, and through various initiatives, guide them into ALIVERSE.
TechFlow: Many grew up reading Ali’s comics and picture books—they’re very soothing. Will healing remain the core spirit of ALI NFT going forward?
ALINFT: Frankly speaking, the formation and spread of any IP inevitably involves shaping values and worldview. Ali’s core hasn’t changed—in fact, as mentioned earlier, we aim to create a sense of fairy tale. Not just fairy tales for children, but ones everyone needs.
We're deeply honored that Ali has brought comfort to many users—it's something truly meaningful, and we’ll continue that legacy. Beyond love, warmth, and innocence, we also welcome new interpretations from new audiences. Ali previously established an IP strategy centered on "New Aesthetics, New Scenarios, New Content," and now, through this NFT initiative, we hope to further expand the imaginative potential of the Ali IP.
TechFlow: Web3 places great emphasis on community culture. How is the ALI community developing, and what are your thoughts on cultivating such a culture?
ALINFT: We highly value community power. After publicly launching the NFT project, rather than blindly expanding our community size, the team has actively fostered consensus among current users through events, co-creation activities, and live voice chats. The community atmosphere is lively, but we genuinely discourage “grinding” or excessive competition—this helps us identify partners who truly love ALI and align with our community ethos.
As for community culture, it cannot be artificially predefined; it naturally evolves over time. One thing we can affirm: this culture will reflect the original IP’s spirit—relaxing, joyful, and positively uplifting.
ALINFT has already released its initial roadmap. For Aliverse, completing the NFT mint is only the first step. Currently, Ali has built https://www.cyber.xyz/alinft its own virtual gallery, and will continue collaborating with other metaverse projects to build out its digital space. Future plans include an eponymous game, derivative NFTs, and more interactive experiences—all currently in development.
Additionally, when the time is right, Aliverse may launch DAO governance, enabling more participants to contribute to community decision-making.
TechFlow: Cold Rabbit NFT (XRC) primarily targets native crypto/NFT players. Your target audience seems less defined—curious which group will become the main force in ALIVERSE: the 4.5 million existing fans or the native crypto users?
ALINFT: For us, there’s no strict division. Anyone with innocence in their heart and belief in fairy tales is part of ALIVERSE’s target audience. Our hope is that existing Ali fans use this opportunity to explore the NFT space, while crypto-native users discover the Ali IP through NFTs. Everyone knows Ali is a homegrown Chinese comic IP—but we aspire for it to gain greater international reach.
TechFlow: I checked your Discord—there are meme contests and story submissions. Beyond these, do you have other strategies to boost engagement on social platforms?
ALINFT: The ALINFT community now includes sub-communities in over ten languages, welcoming users from all backgrounds. We’ll continue engaging members through initiatives like “content creation” and “fan-art” campaigns, encouraging co-creation and organic brand promotion.
We’ve already hosted fan-art competitions such as “Ali National-Chic Creation” and “Ali Seeks New Friends,” both receiving enthusiastic participation.
Another approach is forming deeper partnerships with other NFT brands and communities. In Web3, brand collaborations and interoperability take many forms. Beyond offering whitelists to blue-chip NFT projects like BAYC and engaging in social media interactions, we’re planning even deeper cross-project collaborations—stay tuned.
TechFlow: Many NFTs today seem to follow Bored Ape’s playbook, resulting in increasingly homogenized mechanics. What’s Ali’s advantage?
ALINFT: The NFT space is still in its infancy, so talking about “advantages” might be premature. However, Ali NFT does have unique characteristics and goals rooted in the IP’s own evolution.
The Ali IP has steadily grown over 16 years, initially gaining popularity through four-panel comics and emoji packs. In today’s terms, those were memes of that era.
Over the past 16 years, Ali’s book series have sold over 3 million copies, spawned thousands of derivative emojis—with over 200 million downloads on WeChat alone—and accumulated 500 million wallpaper downloads. An animated feature film and long-form series are expected in 2022. Additionally, physical blind boxes and offline experiences have been developed, making Ali a highly mature IP.
We’re excited to integrate NFTs with other business segments—for example, showcasing Ali NFTs in physical stores or granting real-world benefits to NFT holders. Yet, our primary focus remains expanding into the metaverse as a new frontier.
In truth, commercial exploitation around IPs is already well-established globally. The biggest transformation NFTs bring lies in shifting users from passive consumers to active participants, fostering a culture of co-creation—this is crucial. As explorers in the Web3 era, we look forward to seeing more innovative applications emerge, opening new possibilities for the Ali IP.
ALINFT Community:
Official Website:https://www.alinft.io/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/0xALINFT
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/alinft
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