Dubai, Miami, Seoul and Singapore: the Race to become the World Metaverse Hub has just started

The race to become the world number one Metaverse Hub has already started. Dubai, Miami, Seoul and Singapore are on the starting line

Today, with an ever growing digital-based world, the great opportunity to make the difference for companies and public institutions is to create phygital experiences capable of connecting the physical and the virtual/digital also referred to as an omnichannel. And technologies with the greatest potential to do so are all those related to blockchain and metaverse. Therefore, the current challenge is to push as much as possible Web2 users, i.e. everyone using the Internet in its current state, including social media, to Web3, the next evolution of the Internet that integrates concepts such as decentralization and blockchain technology, used to access the metaverse.

These technologies will not only disrupt industries, creating new opportunities and radically changing the way we interact with the world around us but, if followed by the right development policies, they will also allow urban ecosystems to economically relaunch themselves on the global scene.

In this article we briefly explore the state of the metaverse and blockchain technologies in four geographically distant but digitally close realities: Dubai, Miami, Seoul and Singapore.

Dubai has quickly established itself as the Middle East hub for digital innovation, with significant investments for the development of the metaverse and the blockchain technologies. The Dubai Future Foundation has launched several initiatives to promote the development of the metaverse, including the Dubai Future Accelerators program and the Dubai 10X initiative. The city also launched the "Dubai Blockchain Strategy" in 2020, with the aim of making Dubai the world's first city fully powered by blockchain. These efforts have led to the creation of several major blockchain companies in Dubai, including BitOasis and ArabianChain.

In terms of metaverse, Dubai is home to several startups and large companies that are investing in the industry, including ConsenSys and SuperWorld. Dubai's commitment to the development of these technologies is constant and the most ambitious project concerns the Dubai Metaverse Strategy launched in November 2022. The initiative aims to attract over 1,000 companies active in the blockchain and metaverse fields, and create 40,000 virtual jobs and add $4bn to the emirate's economy over the next five years.

On the American continent, Miami is increasingly becoming a hub for innovation and technology. The US city has made significant investments in the metaverse and blockchain industries. Miami has hosted major gaming, metaverse and web3 events, such as Dcentralcon and the Miami Crypto Experience. Furthermore in 2022, the city, together with ONE Sotheby's, presented the MetaResidence project, the first real luxury villa sold as NFT, which will be built both physically and virtually within one of the most popular metaverses, The Sandbox.

In terms of blockchain, Miami is home to several large companies, including Bitstop and Bitcoin Depot. The Miami-Dade County government has launched several initiatives to promote the adoption of blockchain technology, including the Blockchain Task Force and the Smart City Initiative. With increased investment and support from both the public and private sectors, Miami is likely to see a significant growth of these technologies in the future, thanks also to the Mayor Francis Suarez. Suarez is the first mayor to receive part of his salary in bitcoin, an initiative so successful that it was proposed once more by New York Mayor Eric Adams, who received his salary in bitcoin and ethereum.

Metaverse and blockchain are also rapidly growing in South Korea and its capital Seoul. Korea aims to become the metaverse's fifth largest market by 2026, according to a Deloitte report. More than 500 companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and Nexon, have formed a 'metaverse alliance' to coordinate the development of metaverse-based platforms. The government aims to create 40,000 metaverse professional profiles while helping ready-to-train digital talent and foreign startups entering the Korean market. In addition, the government will establish a Korean language institute in the metaverse and a "K-Metaverse Academy" to connect global startups with local companies. However, the most important project is in the South Korean capital, Seoul. The city has invested KRW 3.9 billion (about €2.8 billion) in the Metaverse Seoul project, as part of the Seoul Vision 2030 plan launched by Mayor Oh Se-hoon. The proposal is simple but effective: to propose a 1:1 scale replica of the entire capital within the metaverse. The importance of digital solutions in South Korea is indeed confirmed by Deloitte forecasts, which estimate that the metaverse market will generate between 36 and 67 billion dollars a year by 2035.

Moving just a little further, we find Singapore, an important financial and technological hub in Southeast Asia. The Singapore government has launched several initiatives to promote the development and adoption of blockchain technology, including the Singapore Blockchain Innovation Program. Singapore is home to several major blockchain companies, including TenX and Qtum. The city-state is also home to several major blockchain companies, including Bitmain and Huobi. According to a study published by the FIS company, 82% of companies said that the metaverse will have a major impact on their businesses over the next year. Given the many blockchain, metaverse and web3 initiatives held in Singapore, those figures do not surprise. One of the most recent collaborations concerns the popular fashion brand, Vogue. The magazine has launched a project called “From Blockchain to Love Chain”, a series of immersive events held in Vogue Singapore's virtual lounge "Club Vogue Singapore" and "Fashion's New World", in collaboration with Spatial.io, partner of Vogue Singapore since the first metaverse initiatives made by the government.

Many companies from all over the world, including China and Europe, are setting up in Singapore generating huge opportunities in the "Metaverse economy".

However, according to “channelnewsasia.com”, this Metaverse race in Singapore is heating up and facing a major problem, companies’ struggle to find talent.

This is now the key issue for all the technological hubs. Industries and brands are increasingly adopting the metaverse, building their brands and reaching more customers, however traditional educational centers struggle to keep up with the demand for new digital skills.

These innovations will further push the demand for new professional profiles with new digital skills. Still, the skill mismatch in the labor market is expected to increase until 2030. This is a significant issue for companies, as the market frantically pushes towards a digital transformation: the only solution is continuous training for employees to prevent skills obsolescence.

Since 2016 Geeks Academy has been at the forefront with upskilling and reskilling courses. Here is a list of training opportunities: https://www.geeksacademy.it/en-EN/courses