Blockchain tech leads to greater metaverse applications

Blockchain technology is developing towards a more user-friendly approach, experts said in an industry forum held in Shanghai over the weekend.

We are currently in the Web3.0 era where it's possible to own digital identities and assets. It's such a great leap because in Web1.0 we could only really search for information online.

In Web2.0, after 2003 we were then able to share content with other users. Web3.0, backed by blockchain technology, acts as an infrastructure for the metaverse, according to Li Chenxing, a young scientist from the Shanghai Tree-Graph Blockchain Research Institute.

Metaverse features immersive experiences backed by technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality, as well as the counterpart of real economy in the virtual world, he explained, while pointing out the problem about user rights.

"Platforms use user data to generate massive economic value but users can't really enjoy that value," Li said. "So, next, blockchain technology will be developed to give individual users more rights and control."

Conflux, developed by Tree-Graph, is one of the top three third-generation public blockchains in the world, with 24.7 million accounts since its inception in October 2020.

China's digital economy has reached 50.2 trillion yuan (US$6.9 trillion) at the end of 2022, ranking second in the world. It accounts for 41.5 percent of the country's GDP.