By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
After coming to terms with the way cryptocurrency is becoming part of mainstream financial services, China has become lenient in its stance on digital currencies after its initial opposition to them.
Those in the know believe that there is no likelihood of China delegitimizing crypto any time soon, but NFTs and blockchain will be part of China’s metaverse plan in the long run.
According to the views of some experts, the way China goes about its metaverse may appear unique compared to others. But decentralized networks, as seen in others, will not form part of their metaverse plan.
China is investing heavily in creating a version of its metaverse, but all indications point to a repeat of history when the web first emerged. Following the mainstreaming of the internet in the 1990s, many internet experts predicted that it would be the catalyst for democracy to thrive in China. However, Chinese authorities are hellbent on staying on a course that has served them for years, communism, so the rules gave no room for the free speech that came with the internet boom.
Despite its apparent dislike of a decentralized system, China would still embrace the metaverse, partake in it, and make money from it. But the experience will be different from others, just like how the internet was different in China during the internet revolution in the 90s.
Tech Players Lead The Way
The potential of the metaverse among leasing tech companies is not in doubt; tech giants are into the metaverse project at a much higher level than can be found in the news. Before November, a whopping $1.6 billion (10 billion Yuan) was injected into metaverse projects in China.
According to Sino Global, a Chinese crypto firm, only a meager 2.1 billion Yuan was invested in metaverse-related ventures in the whole of 2020.
In December, Baidu, the renowned search engine, announced the launch of XiRang, its unique metaverse app. XiRang translates to the “Land of Hope.” Baidu’s focus is on digital infrastructure, as emphasized by the company’s vice president, Ma Jie. The vice president also states that the company will not support cryptocurrency and NFT.
Entertainment giant Tencent, the world’s biggest video game company, based on portfolio, revealed its plan to take over VR hardware maker Black Shark in January. Martin Lau, Tencent president, described the metaverse as an exciting venture to follow.
According to a report about metaverse projects in China, Tencent does not require decentralized infrastructure to venture into the new territory because of its market size. For context, Tencent’s ecosystem is all over the gaming industry and the tech space, making it more challenging to rely on a decentralized system to succeed in the metaverse.
The Challenges
According to a Reuters report on January 27, China’s overall effort is way behind others in their quest to make inroads into the metaverse. Low investment by local tech companies and other institutionalized policies plays a role in how the country lags.
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