METAVERSE
 amounts of detailed user data , it ’ s a dance on a tightrope of ethics and privacy .
 “ Maintaining user trust through protecting privacy will be integral to the reputations of businesses in the metaverse , especially given the focus of many in that world on anonymity .”
 How big can the metaverse ’ s virtual economic system become ? With the issues of implementing payment infrastructures in the metaverse laid bare , it poses a question of how big virtual economic systems can become .
 Michaelson notes that while “ there ’ s considerable momentum building , with tech titans like Meta , Microsoft , and NVIDIA laying down heavy bets on the metaverse ”, he cautions that digital industries “ should not get carried away before considering the challenges that will have to be solved ”.
 “ First , not everyone is so universally excited about the concept . A recent poll by Axios found more people were ‘ scared ’ than ‘ excited ’ about the metaverse , with 60 % admitting they hadn ’ t heard much about it . That doesn ’ t exactly scream ‘ widespread adoption ’, does it ?
 “ There are technical hurdles to clear , too . Developing a standard payment infrastructure , ensuring regulatory compliance , and bolstering security measures are just some of the challenges on the horizon . Throw in the data privacy concerns and the potential misuse of user information , and the picture becomes murkier on large-scale adoption quickly .”
 92 September 2023