- Shanghai city to take the lead on reinstating China’s economy
- Shanghai city will be supporting the development of the metaverse-related industries
- China tops as a major mining hub despite crypto regulations
A policy paper reported that the Shanghai government has metaverse, NFTS, blockchain and Web3 as part of its five-year digital economy plan.
The policy paper which was published on 12 July 2022, reveals Shanghai’s plan to help China reinstate its economy.
To achieve this, Shanghai city will be supporting the development of the metaverse ecosystem. The city will also be backing technology that focuses on low-carbon energy and smart terminal.
Metaverse to receive $1.5 billion funds
The Shanghai government has plans to create a $1.5 billion (10 billion Yuan) industry fund. The fund will be used to support metaverse adoption in China. The plan is to revolutionize industries that support metaverse adoption to $52 billion by 2025.
Wu Jincheng, who is the head of the Economy and Information Technology Committee, reported that financing the metaverse will bring a revolution in various industries.
Wu noted that the funding will focus on initiating projects that will narrow towards “benchmarking products and services.” 10 leading companies and 100 small-sized firms will be developed in line with this initiative.
The metaverse entertainment sector is also part of this plan. Technologies such as brain-computer interface and extended reality will also be boosted. This will go a long way to enhance virtual concepts, idols and sports.
The NFT marketplace exploration is also included in the plan. Shanghai city will be promoting enterprises that drive asset digitization, digital intellectual property trading and digital ownership.
Blockchain technology inclusion
Blockchain technology will not be left out either. The city plans to support cross-industry applications that leverage blockchain technology. This will include data trading and gaming.
Shanghai reported that it will accelerate the launching of modern technologies. These will include digital identity, data distribution and a decentralized domain name system (DNS).
The smart terminal technology, which encompasses robots, smart vehicles, smart home gadgets and VR headsets is also a key focus.
Smart terminal technology will go a long way in improving the elderly care, transportation and healthcare sectors.
Shanghai will also be initiating 10 major industries and 1000 companies that will be specializing in low-carbon industrial fields. These fields will cater to hydrogen energy development, low-carbon metallurgy and high-end energy equipment.
Crypto is not part of the game
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission had earlier this year warned against any illegal metaverse fundraising.
The Economic Daily, a newspaper managed by the China state had also discouraged investors and citizens from adopting cryptocurrencies. The current crypto winter had created fears of bitcoin melting down to zero.
However recently China emerged as a major mining hub second to the United States.
Several states have been seen backing the development of blockchain metaverse-related projects. One of them is Italy, which was reported to have created $45 million worth of reserves. The reserves will be used to back-up companies that run blockchain-related projects within the country.
Italy is also among countries such as Spain and France that allowed Binance to operate within their jurisdiction. Binance will open local offices that will be offering products and services to the locals.
