Release of the Web3.0 Innovation Ecosystem Construction Research Report, Experts Suggest Innovative Regulatory System

Recently, the press conference for the "2024 Shanghai Web3.0 Innovation Ecosystem Construction Research Report" was held, and representatives from government agencies, universities, and related industries unanimously agreed that the development of Web3.0 is crucial for the information technology industry. This report is the first industry report in Shanghai focused on Web3.0, guided by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission and jointly published by the Liberation Daily and Fudan University School of Economics.

The industrial ecosystem has initially formed, and RWA has become a new trend.

The report points out that a global Web3.0 ecosystem has initially formed, based on a diverse computing power network, distributed data storage network, and high-speed communication network, with blockchain infrastructure at its core. Currently, core technology innovations in blockchain are active, the industry scale is steadily growing, and the strength of enterprises is continuously demonstrating. A pattern has been established globally, dominated by Ethereum, with multiple chains coexisting.

Experts believe that "RWA" (Real World Asset tokenization) will become the next development trend of Web3.0. In the next 5-10 years, with the exploration of governments, regulatory agencies, and financial institutions around the world, the integration of traditional finance and capital with RWA will accelerate, promoting the interconnectivity of global financial payment transactions.

Currently, the financial assets and technologies of Web3.0 are beginning to be accepted by governments and mainstream financial institutions in multiple countries. The tokenization of funds, such as fiat-backed stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and central bank digital currencies, as well as the tokenization of real-world assets, is rapidly developing.

Hong Kong's practices in this regard are particularly noteworthy. The "Multilateral Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge Platform" project, which is developed with the participation of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, aims to improve the efficiency of cross-border payments. In addition, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has also announced the list of working groups for the wholesale central bank digital currency project Ensemble, promoting interoperability between wCBDC, tokenized currency, and tokenized assets.

Mainstream capital enters the market, top-level design is crucial

In January 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first Bitcoin spot ETFs, authorizing the initial listing of 11 ETFs. Hong Kong and Australia also successively approved Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF products. The report believes that the listing of spot ETFs will significantly enhance market liquidity and further stimulate ecological innovation and development.

However, the report and the attending experts emphasize that strengthening top-level design is key to the current development of Web3.0. Meng Yan, the head of SFT Labs, pointed out that Web3.0 is in a dormant period, waiting for a relaxed macro environment. He also emphasized that due to the lack of a unified regulatory system globally, there are speculative and fraud risks in the market, which pose a long-term challenge to the healthy development of Web3.0.

Experts suggest studying "Tokenomics"

Meng Yan suggested that domestic government departments accelerate the research and formulation of Token regulatory policies to provide security for the "Token economy" and digital assets. Xu Xiaoyu, managing partner of Amino Capital, also stated that with the approach of the Web3.0 era, "Token economics" is on the rise, and governments, universities, and research institutions should conduct in-depth research on this discipline to provide academic support for the prosperity and innovative regulatory system construction of the next generation of the Internet.

Opportunities for Shanghai in the Development of Web3.0

The report believes that Shanghai has carried out beneficial explorations in a systematic, institutional, market-oriented, and legal manner in the development of Web3.0. Under the guidance of relevant support policies and plans, the Web3.0-related industry, represented by blockchain technology, continues to progress, driving the rapid development of the digital economy and assisting in the construction of Shanghai as an international science and technology innovation center.

The report suggests that in the era of Web3.0, Shanghai can make contributions in six areas: fully leveraging the advantages of the digital economy, introducing special support policies, increasing financial support, promoting the construction of standard systems, creating an innovation highland for industrial ecology, and innovating the regulatory system.

Shanghai can leverage its advanced technologies and rich experience in fintech, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and other areas, combined with the characteristics of its industrial structure, to lead with industrial digitization, transforming traditional productivity into new qualitative productivity, and promote the application of the Web3.0 industry with a solid digital economy foundation.