Entertainment knows no bounds, Web3 opens a new era

In this era of rapid technological advancement, the boundaries between the virtual and the real are gradually becoming blurred. Imagine being able to embark on adventures with cartoon characters in a virtual world or having your digital avatar strut down the runway in outfits designed by top designers. This new experience that merges reality and the virtual not only adds a new dimension to people's daily lives but also contains immense commercial potential and economic value.

In recent years, the application and continuous development of innovative technology have become one of the key factors driving the rapid expansion of the entertainment industry. Driven by digital technology, digital entertainment has emerged as a highly potential economic sector. Research reports predict that the global online entertainment market revenue will grow from $184.2 billion in 2021 to $653.4 billion in 2027, with an impressive compound annual growth rate of 21%, demonstrating astonishing development potential and vast market space.

The rapid popularization and continuous upgrading of mobile internet and smartphone technology have driven explosive growth in fields such as streaming music, video, social platforms, and mobile games over the past decade. The next wave of breakthrough growth is likely to be driven by the third generation of the internet (Web3) and blockchain technology. Currently, many large entertainment companies around the world are heavily investing in exploring emerging fields such as NFTs, GameFi, "play-to-earn" models, and immersive entertainment.

Recently, a three-day Digital Entertainment Leaders Forum was held in Hong Kong, focusing on the theme "Entertainment Power UP! A New Perspective on Web3". Over 90 experts from more than 30 countries and regions shared how digital entertainment technology is bringing new experiences to various fields such as art, education, sports, and life in the Web3 era, and discussed the application prospects and opportunities of Web3 in everyday life. More than 3,500 people participated in this event both online and offline, generating a strong response and fully demonstrating the vigorous development of the digital entertainment industry in Hong Kong.

As one of the "Happy Hong Kong" series of events, the forum site also features interactive projects such as augmented reality (AR) games, smart sports walls, simulated racing experiences, and application workshops, along with local特色 snack stalls, providing a colorful array of choices for weekend leisure.

A high-quality entertainment experience not only stimulates consumption but also drives economic development. Hong Kong is actively seizing the opportunities of the new wave of digital entertainment development. Currently, around 170 companies engaged in digital entertainment have gathered here, involving multiple fields such as the metaverse, game development, gaming big data analysis, e-sports equipment, and peripheral research and development.

Among these companies, many have begun to actively apply Web3 and other cutting-edge technologies, achieving significant results. For example, a local digital health startup has partnered with a well-known entertainment company this year to launch the world’s first immersive interactive fitness adventure application, allowing users to work out alongside comic book characters. Another startup game company successfully entered the Japanese market with its metaverse game, accumulating over 145,000 members in community channels in just six months.

It is worth noting that the application scope of Web3 is not limited to the fields of digital entertainment or virtual assets. As the core blockchain technology of Web3, it possesses characteristics such as decentralization, security, transparency, immutability, and low cost, which can be widely applied in various areas including finance, commerce, trade, supply chain management, and even daily life. Through technological innovation and application innovation, Web3 is expected to address many pain points and challenges in reality.

To provide a more intuitive demonstration of the application of Web3 technology in life and business, a "Web3 Life Experience Pavilion" also opened concurrently. The pavilion showcases how Hong Kong enterprises apply Web3 technology in different aspects of life and business to improve efficiency and create new economic value. For example, addressing the long-term financing difficulties faced by farming households, a startup utilizes blockchain and IoT technology to track and monitor the location, health status, and growth rate of each livestock in real time. Due to the immutable nature of the data on the blockchain, the credibility of the data is greatly enhanced, giving financial institutions more confidence in accepting livestock as collateral, thereby providing financing support.

In addition, a local bank is developing a "programmable payment solution" that uses programmable tokens for smart contracts to achieve more efficient public, commercial, and personal payments. Another local startup is collaborating with an internationally renowned fashion designer to allow visitors to try on the designer's fashions in the virtual world using 3D scanning technology. These cases fully demonstrate the spirit and breakthrough capabilities of local enterprises and startups in keeping up with the times and being innovative.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is also actively applying Web3 technology. In February of this year, the Financial Management Authority issued the world’s first tokenized green bonds issued by a government, consolidating bonds and other related financial instruments, participants, and activities onto a single digital platform, significantly enhancing the efficiency of the entire process, reducing the traditional bond issuance time from 5 working days (T+5) to 1 working day (T+1).

To accelerate the development of Web3, the government has allocated HKD 50 million in this year's budget to expedite the establishment of a thriving Web3 ecosystem, including actively attracting businesses and talent to settle here, as well as organizing related educational and promotional activities. Currently, more than 180 Web3-related tech companies have gathered here, including unicorns and licensed virtual asset trading platforms, with over one-fifth of the companies coming from mainland and overseas.

The government has also established a dedicated task force for the development of the third generation of the Internet, bringing together leaders and professionals from relevant industries to assist the government in steadily promoting the vigorous and sustainable development of Web3 in Hong Kong, in areas such as regulatory frameworks, ecosystems, infrastructure, talent training, and educational promotion.

As an international financial center and a metropolis that values innovative technology, Hong Kong must maintain a sense of urgency and seize the major trends in technological development. Under the premise of sound and appropriate regulation, actively lead and promote innovative exploration and development, so that Hong Kong can ride the wave of this fiercely competitive technological innovation tide, develop its economy, and benefit its citizens.