Vietnam is leading Southeast Asia’s foray into the metaverse

vietnam metaverse
Image by Toppercussion | Bigstockphoto

With the increasing popularity of the metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and Web3, the world is also seeing the growth of Vietnam as a hub for the latest innovations in these domains.

Towards the end of 2021, Vietnamese Metaverse pioneer project The Parallel made headlines for announcing that it will expand the metaverse beyond just gaming and entertainment by building communities that “enjoy to earn.”

This goal appears to be extremely feasible, as the Chainalysis Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index reports Vietnam to have the highest cryptocurrency adoption in the world, with huge transaction volumes on peer-to-peer platforms.

Over the last two years, the country also saw the rapid rise of blockchain-based startups and platforms being birthed locally. As a prime example, Vietnam is home to Sky Mavis, the developer behind the popular mobile game Axie Infinity. Within just three years of starting up, Sky Mavis has garnered unicorn status and has also accumulated a total of 2 million Axie players as of October 2021.

Another company poised for growth is Web3 gaming studio Sipher, which secured $6.8 million in an October 2021 seed round to help further develop the World of Sipheria game.

CEO Nguyen Trung Tin said that the financing round, co-led by Arrington Capital, Hashed and Konvoy Ventures, is expected to help Sipher develop tools for fascinating, fun, and intriguing blockchain-based gaming experiences in the metaverse.

TechWire Asia reports that the country’s investments in technology firms have increased by a factor of eight between 2016 and 2019, reaching a peak of $861 million in 2019.

Both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have established a strong ecosystem for technology startups focused on e-commerce, fintech, artificial intelligence (AI), food-tech, enterprise solutions, and information technology services. Blockchain-based startups are also growing in size and number.

Acknowledging the country’s potential as a regional tech hub, the government launched the $32 million National Innovation Centre (NIC) in January 2021. NIC’s mandate is to construct a start-up and innovation ecosystem that contributes to the country’s economic development based on scientific and technological progress.

Within the next few years, the government also expects an influx of foreign investments, as a result of the country’s generous tax incentives and the opportunity of 100% foreign ownership of their companies, as opposed to just 50% or less in other Asian countries.

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