The logo of Tencent is seen at the Tencent office in Shanghai (REUTERS)

Chinese state media reported, on Thursday, that Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) and Ant Group have inked an agreement to stop secondary trading of digital collectibles and "self-regulate" their market activities, according to Reuters.

The companies are among 30 firms and institutes that have agreed to the "Digital Collectible Industry Self-Discipline Development Initiative," in which they will help prevent secondary trading and speculation in digital collectibles as per a report by the Shanghai Securities News.

According to the newspaper, the initiative was led by the Chinese Cultural Industry Association, and other signatories included Baidu and JD.com.

It is worth noting that digital collectibles in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFT) have grown in popularity in recent years, thanks in large part to an active, if not highly speculative, secondary market.

The firms signed a self-regulation agreement on Thursday that includes 14 articles. Aside from a prohibition on secondary trading, signatories are required to use real-name authentication when selling digital collectibles to users.

The agreement also requires platforms to ensure that their blockchain technologies are "secure and controllable," as well as to adequately protect users' personal information.