South Korea, a country known for its stringent regulations with respect to cryptocurrencies and NFTs, has high hopes for the Metaverse. The country’s government will invest a little over 223.7 billion Korean Won ($177.1 million) directly in a myriad of Metaverse projects. The country’s decision to invest in various Metaverse projects makes it one of the very first governments to take this huge step. The investment falls under the “Digital New Deal” program launched by the country to make investments in emerging technologies.
The Digital New Deal program is led by South Korea’s Ministry of science and information and communication technologies head Lim Hyesook. According to Hyesook, the Metaverse is “an uncharted digital world with endless opportunities,” indicating the South Korean government’s growing interest in investing in the Metaverse projects. This money would be first leveraged to develop a metropolitan level metaverse platform, which would allow the country’s nationals to access different government schemes and services online, according to CNBC.
Moreover, the country’s investments in Metaverse tech could encourage other countries to take the same path. The reports about the government’s growing interest in the Metaverse first arrived back in February when two leading retailers integrated artificial intelligence (AI) and Metaverse technologies into their platforms to improve customer experience.
South Korea is known to be more technology-savvy compared to other nations, and it has taken active measures to promote the underlying blockchain technology. Additionally, it was among the first nations to bring blockchain use cases into government settings, which encouraged other countries to take suit.
The Metaverse is a virtual world with a non-fungible token (NFT) acting as an entity (such as a piece of art, music album, video, photo, avatar, real estate property, etc.). Even though the technology is still in its nascent stages, it has created the biggest hype in the cryptocurrency sector followed by NFTs.
All big tech corporations such as Apple, The Meta (formerly Facebook, Inc.), and Google have shown huge interest in the concept. The Metaverse was one of the most discussed concepts during the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) 2022 event, wherein leaders anticipated that it could help shape different industries, especially medical and diagnostics, where at times it becomes extremely difficult for human specialists to undertake tasks in person. In such cases, a virtual reality (VR) setup would come to the rescue.
South Korea to Set Up Different Committees to Regulate Cryptocurrencies
The South Korean Government announced Tuesday (May 31) that it would establish a new Digital Asset Committee, as per reports by local news outlet NewsPim. The report further indicated that this committee will act as a watchdog over the cryptocurrency and NFTs industry. It would also be responsible for policy separation and regulation until the implementation of the forthcoming Framework Act for Digital Assets and the set up of an official government oversight community to oversee crypto operations.
On the other hand, the country’s government is planning to launch the Digital Asset Basic Act (DABA) and back it up with more authority by 2024. The bill is set to establish next year and will be drafted taking into account global standards and will rely on the experience of the world’s largest economies. The country’s local Financial Stability Board (FSB) will partner with the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the U.S. and European Union regulators.
