Speech: Du Yu, Head of Wanxiang Blockchain Lab

Original Title: "Wanxiang Blockchain's Du Yu: Exploring the Metaverse from Blockchain"

Source: Chain News

On the afternoon of October 25, the "Digital Future: Metaverse" International Week Open Day event, co-hosted by Wanxiang Blockchain and Tencent News, successfully concluded. Du Yu, head of Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, attended and delivered a keynote speech titled "Exploring the Metaverse from Blockchain," discussing the relationship between blockchain and the metaverse from the perspective of blockchain practitioners and envisioning the future development direction of the metaverse. The full text of the speech is as follows, organized based on on-site shorthand, with some edits that do not affect the original meaning for the readers' enjoyment:

Du Yu, Head of Wanxiang Blockchain Lab

Thank you to the host, and thanks to the experts and guests from all over the world for supporting our event.

Today, I am very honored to join Tencent News and industry partners on the stage of the Shanghai Blockchain International Week to explore the forefront of what the metaverse is. Taking this opportunity, I would like to discuss the relationship between blockchain and the metaverse from the perspective of a blockchain practitioner, as well as what the metaverse is. Today's speech will focus on exploring the relationship between blockchain and the metaverse from this perspective.

First, let's talk about some recent hot events in the industry. Facebook's transformation into a metaverse company is a significant development; prior to that, Roblox reached a market value of 48 billion USD. The key point is that it is an open environment where everyone can create. Recently, due to the popularity of games, this also represents the trend of industry development; related to the blockchain industry, SANDBOX has many institutions building their virtual headquarters on the SANDBOX platform.

What is the metaverse? When discussing something, we need to clarify what it is. Facebook defines it as "a virtual world to explore and create with friends," and also mentions the concepts of Roblox and SANDBOX: you need to be able to create actively, rather than just explore like in "World of Warcraft," where everything is already set, and you can only explore, not create.

Wikipedia defines it as a continuously operating, shareable 3D virtual perceivable universe.

These concepts can seem abstract, and if anyone is interested, I recommend looking at the research report on the metaverse from Tsinghua University's New Media Research Center, which is very comprehensive. Its definition of the metaverse is succinct: the virtual world multiplied by the real world, so it is not a simple parallel relationship or an additive relationship, but a mutually reinforcing relationship. The things in the original virtual world derive from reality, while the metaverse is the mutual promotion of the real world and the virtual world. I think this formula summarizes it very well.

Is there a standard definition of the metaverse now? Actually, there isn't. Our approach, or rather my own research method, is to look at its characteristics. For example, WeChat identity is also an element of the metaverse; in "World of Warcraft," immersion counts as well. When mentioning the metaverse, some believe that AR and VR must be included. Is it true that without AR and VR, there is no metaverse? Not necessarily. Moreover, AR and VR are not the final forms; the ultimate form may be brain-computer interfaces.

This year's summit theme is "Digital Transformation," and I believe the metaverse is an extension of the digital economy. From the definition of the digital economy, it has two aspects: one is the digitization of industries, which means using digital technology to enhance the efficiency and service content of industry, agriculture, and services; the other is the digital industrialization, where more things on the internet exist in the digital world today. The metaverse is a further deepening of the digital economy, and it is inevitable. The real world will certainly be subject to many physical limitations; for example, it may take two or three hours to travel from other cities to Shanghai, but in the digital world, the only limit is your imagination. Of course, the digital world also has its own operating rules. Today, the marginal effect of growth in the physical world has decreased to a certain extent, while in the digital world, its marginal effect remains high. From a capital perspective, when the returns in the physical world are relatively low, you will definitely seek places with better growth, which is one of the reasons for the popularity of the metaverse concept.

Our chairman, Mr. Xiao, once categorized: digital twins, digital natives, and the symbiosis of virtual and real, which are different stages and paths we take in the development of the metaverse. Today, in the digital transformation of cities, many have talked about digital twins, and we have also done some related work.

Digital natives, on the other hand, are not constrained by various rules and physical constraints of the physical world. So whether it's Facebook or SANDBOX, these all belong to digital natives. I believe that in the next five, ten, or twenty years, the main driving force will come from digital natives because they have their own logic and are not limited by physical rules. Ultimately, the symbiosis of virtual and real is the true metaverse, which is the real world multiplied by the virtual world. From the perspective of blockchain enterprises and non-blockchain industries, digital twins have developed for many years, and perhaps they have not yet been applied on a large scale, but this is a red ocean. The development space in the next ten or twenty years will definitely be in the digital native world. The development of blockchain is the same; we see different classifications of blockchain domestically and internationally. I believe the future focus will definitely be on digital natives. The metaverse is similar; there is no need to necessarily combine it with existing things. When it develops to a certain extent, it will naturally combine with the physical world in a naturally growing manner, rather than an imposed combination. Ultimately, it will reach the stage of the symbiosis of virtual and real, but I believe that this is still quite far from being realized, of course, this only represents my personal opinion.

This is the macro framework of the metaverse that Mr. Xiao mentioned in a recent speech, and I agree with its content, which will be continuously improved over time. He speaks from the perspective of the metaverse, and you can also see some familiar terms in the blockchain field.

The major technologies of the metaverse are inseparable from blockchain. What unique contributions can blockchain bring to the metaverse, or can the metaverse exist without blockchain? These are topics I am very eager to explore from the perspective of a blockchain practitioner. Now, let's talk about the relationship between blockchain and the metaverse.

In recent years, we have done many application scenarios in the blockchain industry, and I often ask myself a question: What exactly is blockchain? What is its essence? After thinking it over, I decided to quote the viewpoint from "The Economist": It is a trust machine. In various scenarios in China, such as food traceability, inclusive finance, and industrial internet, it establishes trust in a low-cost way through technology, which essentially applies blockchain in different fields, known as the value internet.

Let's return to the macro framework of the metaverse. The role of blockchain at the value level, such as anti-tampering, proof of existence, and traceability, is the same in the metaverse. First, I need to have an identity in the metaverse, and this identity cannot be easily tampered with by others. My assets and information records are in the information world. With blockchain as the infrastructure of trust, there are many things worth exploring.

The concept of the metaverse is still in the early exploration stage, and I would like to throw out some of my own ideas and thoughts on blockchain to see how they can be researched in relation to the metaverse.

First, governance tools for the metaverse. Many people say that the metaverse is decentralized, and this decentralization is at least in relation to large companies. For example, there is a book called "Rules," which discusses the lifespan of cities and enterprises. It is rare to see a century-old enterprise; statistics in China show that most enterprises do not survive beyond five years. So why can cities exist for thousands of years? The core lies in openness. The management of enterprises is top-down, while the management of cities is based on a set of rules; as long as the rules are followed, one can freely enter and exit. Cities have rules and guardians of those rules. The metaverse may ultimately develop in this direction.

Second, guardians of user sovereignty in the metaverse. Recently, people often talk about social death, and digital death is also an interesting concept. Take Tencent as an example. If Tencent shuts down my WeChat account, then I will no longer be able to contact 99% of the people I know, and I will have "digital death." This is even more true in the metaverse, where all my digital social relationships exist. If a company shuts me down, I will be "dead," and the definition of "death" has a new interpretation.

Third, enablers of an open ecosystem in the metaverse. Blockchain is somewhat like Lego; it is open source, and everyone builds their own application scenarios on others' open-source projects, which can greatly increase the speed of iteration. SANDBOX and Roblox are both building the metaverse in a Lego-like manner.

Fourth, economic infrastructure of the metaverse. A preview: the day after tomorrow morning, our chief economist will deliver a keynote speech titled "Metaverse Economics." Everyone can think about how metaverse economics differs from blockchain economics and game economics.

These are some of my immature thoughts, just a starting point for discussion. Thank you!