According to Cointelegraph, a group of British politicians, including eight Lords, participated in a metaverse gathering on September 20 to discuss the United Kingdom's blockchain and Web3 industries with leaders from 51 nations. Natalie Elphicke, Member of Parliament and chair of the new All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Blockchain Technologies, appeared as her unique avatar in the metaverse and emphasized the importance of the next iteration of the internet, stating that Web3 represents a paradigm shift that reimagines the very fabric of the internet.
Elphicke said that the UK has the potential to become a blockchain-enabled "smart country" but noted that the nation was lagging competitors in securing blockchain-related jobs. She called for more national blockchain roadmaps and collaboration between countries, as fewer than 12 countries have published roadmaps so far. Elphicke also mentioned the National Blockchain Roadmap, published in 2021, which sets out an ambition to build a blockchain-based "digital nation" with the technology being applied to climate mitigation efforts, industrial symbiosis networks, and digital identity programs.
Additionally, Elphicke discussed decentralized finance (DeFi), stating that it poses unique challenges and opportunities for regulators and policymakers, and emphasized the importance of ensuring transparency, auditability, and accountability in these ecosystems. She also spoke about real-world asset tokenization, noting that physical assets are getting tokenized and this trend will only grow from here. However, on September 19, an online safety bill aimed at regulating certain UK internet services, including activities in the metaverse, passed through parliament.
