Economic Opportunities within the Metaverse: A Policy Approach

Simply over a 12 months in the past, we shared our vision for the metaverse: a brand new period of the web constructed on immersive and built-in experiences. Since then, we have shared some additional early thoughts round the advantages the metaverse will convey, the significance of constructing it in a manner that’s open and interoperable, and the important want for collaboration between the non-public sector, lawmakers, civil society, academia and numerous teams of people that will expertise it. We additionally labored with other organizations equally passionate in regards to the potential of the metaverse to ascertain the Metaverse Standards Forum — an industry-wide effort to make sure the metaverse is constructed on a basis of open requirements.

Reflecting on all of the methods our lives have been reworked during the last three a long time by the digital revolution, it’s clear that the metaverse presents a promising new enviornment of financial alternative. 

Early estimates point out that the financial contribution of the worldwide metaverse may very well be valued at more than $3 trillion by 2031. Already, locations like Dubai, Seoul and Taiwan are advancing with plans to benefit from the metaverse. And there are new alternatives rising in a variety of industries, from schooling, coaching, distant work and extra; in addition to alternatives for creators to make new types of artwork and leisure, construct extra direct and worthwhile relationships with their audiences and have interaction with extra individuals in methods past the boundaries of right this moment’s know-how. 

Importantly, the 2 key elements for making the metaverse an financial success — interoperability and portability — will likely be powered by the additional adoption of web3 applied sciences. Understandably, policymakers are giving appreciable consideration to the applying of blockchain know-how in monetary companies, whether or not within the type of stablecoins, cryptocurrencies or crypto exchanges, however you will need to acknowledge that blockchain additionally has in depth non-financial functions that may be foundational to the metaverse financial system. For instance, non-financial blockchain-based property, like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), are effectively positioned to ascertain possession of digital objects within the metaverse and allow individuals to navigate experiences and worlds in a manner that platforms don’t presently enable. 

As a way to responsibly construct the metaverse financial system and guarantee its improvements profit as many individuals, companies and creators as attainable, it’s vital for policymakers to set honest guidelines for web3 applied sciences that preserve individuals secure and promote innovation. At their core, these guidelines ought to:

Undertake a technology-neutral strategy that focuses on “same risks, same rules”;
Acknowledge that decentralized methods have a task to play in unlocking new financial alternatives by fostering innovation, competitors, interoperability and portability of
possession and id;
Embrace better collaboration between the general public sector and {industry} as a crucial basis for any future regulatory frameworks.

These three ideas are explored in additional element in our discussion paper. We sit up for persevering with to work with {industry} companions and policymakers on constructing the metaverse, collectively.