In 2021, the concept of the metaverse developed, and blockchain technology, as one of the metaverse's foundational technologies, reached a high level of development. Currently, blockchain has demonstrated great utility in both the physical and virtual worlds. What further technological requirements will the metaverse place on blockchain in the future? And will blockchain technology create additional prospects for brand-new development?
In this article, Mr. Zhang Xiaojun, Chief Strategy Officer of the Blockchain Business of Huawei, will discuss the metaverse's current development status and the fundamental requirements for blockchain technology. In addition, he explained Huawei's plans for the metaverse and blockchain from an enterprise standpoint.
The Evolution of the Metaverse and the Claims of Blockchain
The evolution of the metaverse may broadly be separated into three phases. The initial step is to develop AR, XR, and other technology-based virtual environments in the metaverse. Then, linking the virtual world to the physical world will be in the second phase. The third step, the virtualization of reality and the actualization of virtuality, is the true turning point.
According to the industry infographic, the metaverse industry may be classified into four distinct groups. The first category includes hardware, such as chips, sensors, communications, AR, VR, and XR devices. Hardware's primary function is to gather data and offer sensory experience.
The second group consists of services enabled by hardware; these services require software-defined platforms and payment capabilities. This service type will increase in the future. Meanwhile, content operations also fall under services.
Software is required to facilitate the display of services. The first form of software is an algorithm, which the industry needs to ensure the intelligence and security of data processing. The virtual world must have a delivery channel for software to function as the interactive center of the industry and make content editable and processable.
In the future, all virtual world materials, such as opening, planting, and constructing, will be connected to the actual world.
As a result, the blockchain will concentrate on the hardware, services, software, and content stated in the infographic in order to facilitate data interchange between the virtual and real worlds.
Technical Requirements for Blockchain in the Metaverse
Currently, blockchain has enabled the growth of several sectors in the real world. However, blockchain's implementation in the virtual world is still in its infancy. Initially, we were unaware that virtual information management required adequate verification, but with the advent of the metaverse, the linking of the virtual world with the physical world has become a crucial issue.
Unlike video games, the realm of the metaverse requires identity verification to avoid counterfeiting and unlawful activity. Second, the metaverse needs a data system. The data created by various actions in the metaverse should be compared with data from the actual world so that the two may be connected efficiently.
Therefore, we propose that the requirements of the metaverse on the blockchain should be separated into two parts: identity and data. Through these two factors, we may construct the interconnection between the virtual and physical worlds, which are the two primary study directions of blockchain-assisted metaverse development.
Let's begin with identification. In the virtual world, identity verification is complex, and we cannot know who is using the computer in time. However, the virtual and physical worlds can not be united without identity verification. DID (Distributed Digital Identity) technology is the prevalent solution for authentication now.
Verifiable, autonomously regulated, and decentralized, distributed digital identity is a novel technique enabling the identification of any individual. The overall architecture of distributed digital identification consists of three layers. The DID layer comprises the presently begun DID identification, DID proof, and the signature verification that creates the DID proof connection.
Then come the DPKI network and blockchain layers. The DPKI network layer offers the top layer with a single DID resolution service, while the blockchain layer provides DID papers, storage for verified credentials, and content anchoring. In theory, distributed digital identity is a mix of distributed DID identification and blockchain flow, and its most significant utility lies in identity authentication.
The distributed identification includes a fixed prefix, a method identifier, and a unique, method-specific identifier specified by the DID method. Not every object is assigned a DID identifier, but each DID identifier is distinct. We can check the attribute connection by slicing and dicing the DID identification, which is the DID standard.
At the level of specialized application, an illustration of Internet insurance sales may be shown. First, the identification is validated using the DID identifier, and then the blockchain attribute is utilized to leave a record of insurance sales. In this scenario, DID + blockchain can verify the authenticity of the insurance and offer the insurance agency a traceback record for viewing and comparison, no matter what happens in the future.
Before DID demonstrates its value, it must be coupled with a trusted and organized data flow. Nevertheless, with the assistance of the metaverse, DID will likely be able to efficiently interact with other technologies and acquire additional application options in the future.
Both the physical world and the metaverse are data-driven. In the metaverse, we wish to connect data to its structure and allow the structure to ensure the data's durability and validity. Consequently, the relationship between the metaverse, data, and blockchain must be investigated at this time.
In terms of data, the fundamental requirement of the metaverse is to link data from the virtual and physical worlds. From a blockchain viewpoint, it is essential to construct two chains, one data chain for the physical world and another one for the virtual world, and utilize them to actualize the cross-chain connection and connect the data from both sides.
Once connected, we can successfully communicate and manage virtual data with the outside world, which is crucial to the growth of the metaverse. Some real-world concepts may also be applied to data exchange in the metaverse.
The first is to create a blockchain and utilize it as a global information network for data exchange. The second is to share: from a technological standpoint, blockchain is not ideal for large-scale data sharing; thus, a sharing and exchange platform must be connected to the blockchain for this type of adequate verification. Lastly, a big data platform is required to finish the necessary data processing.
In end-to-end data sharing and exchange, we can include the data collection, general use, record, transaction, and audit in the sharing chain, whereas the real data exchange will be conducted on a separate sharing and exchange platform. This will allow the data from both the virtual and real worlds to be connected rather than fragmented, which is crucial to the development of the metaverse.
In addition, while discussing the metaverse and blockchain, NFT cannot be overlooked. Currently, the most popular metaverse-related topic is NFT, which provides three distinct metaverse scenarios. Several nations are already attempting to use NFT as a standard token model for identity authentication.
In the future metaverse, we must connect transactions to the actual world, convey transaction information from the virtual world to the physical world, and ensure that all transaction procedures are legal and traceable. Blockchain plays a significant role in this connection.
The final point relates to the network. Blockchain demands a significant amount of network and data transfer in the metaverse, all of which must be supported by the underlying network architecture. The network is required for blockchain data flow, and its latency and jitter determine the real productivity in the presence of high concurrency.
The network must maintain an organic security relationship; we cannot place all security efforts on the blockchain. The blockchain must adopt cryptographic techniques, and the network intends to apply the blockchain's security qualities. Security is a requirement not just of blockchain and the cloud but also of the network.
Second, IP latency and jitter might affect the handshake interaction. For the realization of the objective of deterministic IP development, it is necessary to reduce latency and jitter time to improve the performance of blockchain applications in the metaverse, as well as to implement some technical optimizations, such as queuing time and jitter cap control, etc., in order to reduce the latency and jitter time.
In summary, in the future metaverse, the blockchain should be connected to the metaverse and should be able to connect the data from the virtual and actual worlds efficiently. In addition, several technologies, including networking, artificial intelligence, and big data, are essential to this process. Then, blockchain must be coupled with other technologies to facilitate the metaverse's data flow further.
Huawei Blockchain Facilitates the Metaverse
With the advent of technologies such as Web 3.0, the single centralized model of the virtual world will gradually transition into a dispersed one, and polycentricity will emerge, resulting in a significant increase in networking needs. Meanwhile, blockchain systems' security, speed, and concurrency characteristics will become indispensable. In the future, Huawei will also launch apps with enhanced usability and compatibility based on this idea.
Huawei will enhance the security of smart contracts. The initial step involves doing dynamic and static testing of smart contract code. Second, Huawei will integrate smart contracts with the present TE ecosystem to prevent manipulation or assaults on smart contracts.
Performance-wise, blockchain nodes will undoubtedly scale up in the metaverse, and the number of concurrencies will be greater than in the existing physical reality, which implies concurrency performance will become a bottleneck. As a result, Huawei has increased the concurrency requirement to 100,000 TPS to accommodate more innovative application scenarios.
In terms of security and privacy, Huawei presently offers a greater number of encryption algorithms on the blockchain and an MPC-based multiparty secure computing platform outside the chain, which produces outcomes using algorithms and no outgoing data. This technology is more geared toward the future metaverse, in which data is externally shared, and better privacy computing is required.
In terms of software and hardware synergy, blockchain must be connected to hardware, such as chips and network devices, to produce an integration of software and hardware to ensure security and enhance efficiency. In addition, technologies such as tamper-proof storage are linked to the present hardware storage connections, such as the IPS storage relationship, through which Huawei expects to tackle the future storage security challenge.
Overall, Huawei's current blockchain efforts focus mainly on one blockchain self-research platform, three APaaSes, and several ISVs from various sectors. Huawei intends to make blockchain more robust and safe in the future, fully integrate the virtual world with the physical world, and support the future growth of the metaverse more effectively.
