Entertainment Without Borders, A New Vision for Web3

The virtual world has opened up a new dimension for leisure and entertainment. People can interact and adventure with anime characters in a virtual environment, engage in fitness activities, and even control their digital avatars dressed in high fashion for performances. This innovative experience that blends reality and virtuality not only enriches users' entertainment lives but also contains enormous commercial potential and economic value.

Technological innovation is one of the core driving forces behind the rapid development of the entertainment industry in recent years. Driven by digital technology, digital entertainment has become a promising economic sector. Research predicts that 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%, indicating significant growth potential.

The popularity and advancement of mobile internet and smartphone technology have driven explosive growth in streaming music, video, social platforms, and mobile games over the past decade. In the future, a new wave of breakthrough growth is likely to be driven by the third generation of internet (Web3) and blockchain technology. Global entertainment giants are heavily investing in exploring areas such as NFTs, GameFi, "play-to-earn" models, and immersive entertainment.

The recently held annual event "Digital Entertainment Leaders Forum" had 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 in the Web3 era brings new experiences to fields such as art, education, sports, and daily life, and discussed the application prospects of Web3 in everyday life. More than 3,500 people participated both on-site and online, creating a strong response and showcasing the vigorous development of Hong Kong's digital entertainment industry.

This forum also featured interactive projects such as augmented reality ( AR ) games, smart sports walls, simulated racing experiences, and application workshops, along with local specialty snacks, providing citizens with a great place to relax on the weekend.

A high-quality entertainment experience can stimulate consumption and drive economic development. Hong Kong is striving to seize new opportunities in the development of digital entertainment. Currently, about 170 companies engaged in digital entertainment have gathered, involving businesses such as the metaverse, game development, game big data analysis, esports equipment, and peripheral research and development.

Many local companies are actively applying Web3 and other cutting-edge technologies, achieving impressive results. For example, a local digital health startup has partnered with a well-known entertainment company to launch the world's first immersive interactive fitness adventure app, where players can exercise alongside comic characters. Another startup game company's metaverse game has successfully entered the Japanese market, accumulating over 145,000 members in community channels in just six months.

The application scope of Web3 extends far beyond digital entertainment or virtual assets. Its core blockchain technology features decentralization, security, transparency, immutability, and low costs, making it applicable in various fields such as finance, commerce, trade, supply chain management, and even daily life, addressing many real-world challenges through technological and application innovation.

The "Web3 Experience Pavilion" showcases how Hong Kong enterprises apply Web3 technology in various aspects of life and business, improving efficiency and creating new economic value. For example, to address the financing difficulties faced by farmers, a startup utilizes blockchain and IoT technology to monitor livestock conditions in real-time, enhancing data credibility and encouraging financial institutions to accept livestock as collateral for financing. Additionally, a local bank is developing a "programmable payment solution" that uses programmable tokens for smart contracts to achieve more efficient payments. Furthermore, a local startup has partnered with an internationally renowned fashion designer to allow visitors to try on haute couture in the virtual world through 3D scanning technology. These cases reflect the spirit of local enterprises and startups to keep pace with the times and their ability to innovate and break through.

The Hong Kong SAR government is also actively applying Web3 technology. In February of this year, Hong Kong issued the world's first government-issued tokenized green bonds, consolidating bonds and related financial instruments, participants, and activities onto a single digital platform, significantly enhancing the efficiency of the entire process and reducing the time traditionally required for bond issuance from 5 business days to 1 business day.

To accelerate the development of Web3, this year's budget allocates HKD 50 million to establish a Web3 ecosystem, including attracting businesses and talent to settle, as well as organizing relevant education and promotional activities. Currently, more than 180 Web3-related technology companies have been attracted, including unicorns and licensed virtual asset trading platforms, with over 20% of the companies coming from mainland China and overseas.

The Third Generation Internet Development Task Force has convened a meeting, bringing together industry leaders and professionals to assist the government in steadily promoting the sustainable development of Web3 in Hong Kong from aspects such as regulatory framework, ecosystem, 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, it should actively lead and promote innovative exploration and development, enabling Hong Kong to ride the wave of this fierce technological innovation tide, develop its economy, and benefit its citizens.