The United Kingdom’s recently established Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology is set to propel the nation’s metaverse and Web3 strategy.
Outlined in the UK’s 2023 Spring Budget, the government expressed its desire to “lead on the future of web technology, sometimes known as Web3 or the metaverse.” The new tech department, created in February, will take the reins in this endeavor.
Unlocking the metaverse: A focus on economic growth and regulation
Rather than concentrating on specific technologies like blockchain and virtual reality, the department’s efforts will center on the potential economic growth opportunities, investments, and business models associated with concepts such as the Metaverse and Web3. This focus also includes exploring implications for regulation, as per the source.
The metaverse – an aggregation of virtual worlds where people can buy and sell goods – has been deemed a $13 trillion opportunity by investment bank Citigroup. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has also shifted much of its operations to concentrate on building the metaverse, although the recent crypto winter has slowed its expansion.
The UK government has announced that its science and technology framework will be supported by over £370 million ($463 million) in new funding, aimed at “boosting infrastructure, investment, and skills for the UK’s most exciting growing technologies, from quantum and supercomputing through to artificial intelligence.”
It remains unclear how much of this funding has been allocated to the tech department and its work on the metaverse. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who previously pledged to transform the UK into a crypto hub, stated that the department’s objective is to turn scientific and technical innovations into “practical solutions to the challenges we face.”
