The metaverse is in its infancy, and it could be many years before the world sees its full potential. However, that doesn’t mean it’s completely out of reach. Read on to learn what you can already do in the metaverse today.
The metaverse is a 3D immersive virtual world, where people can interact with each other and build in-world experiences, places, landscapes, and objects. These virtual worlds may have their own economies and currencies, allowing people to buy and sell items, just like in the real world.
Metaverses imitate the real world, enabling people to work, socialize, play, and shop. They also offer users a feeling of actually being present in that virtual world and feeling like other people are there with them.
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Interestingly, the metaverse is not a new concept. In a 1992 novel titled Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson coined the word metaverse to describe a virtual reality world with an economy that enables people to buy and sell real estate, while inhabiting 3D avatars. Moreover, massively multiplayer online (MMO) games have been featuring metaverse-like environments for years.
With the emergence of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, companies are building metaverses that incorporate the two, completely changing the metaverse experience. Crypto assets are helping people acquire complete ownership of their virtual assets. For instance, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can represent ownership in virtual real estate. This ownership is recorded on the blockchain, and holders can swap the tokens for major cryptocurrencies like ETH on decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
Let’s take a look at why people are excited about the metaverse.
Big Companies are Investing in the Metaverse
Venture Capitalist Matthew Ball describes the metaverse as “a quasi-successor state to the mobile internet.” This means it will advance and alter the role of the internet, smartphones, and computers in our lives. So, it does appear that the metaverse is the next phase in technology, and companies like Facebook — now called Meta — are putting their money and time into it.
Other companies that are investing in the metaverse are Microsoft, Epic Games, Google, Roblox, Shopify, and Nvidia. An investment in the metaverse now, when it’s still in the very early stages, could give these companies a competitive advantage in the metaverse-based future.
Crypto Metaverse Projects are Recording High NFT Sales Volumes
According to data from NonFungible, crypto metaverse projects are raking in NFT sales in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sometimes, sales can even hit millions of dollars. For example, metaverse sales on August 19, 2022, amounted to $1.8 million.
Investor speculation is driving the demand for metaverse NFTs, especially those representing virtual real estate. A metaverse plot of land that sold for $5 million on TCG World is reportedly the most expensive real estate in metaverse history. The metaverses that are recording the highest volumes in virtual land sales are Otherside and Decentraland.
Celebrities are in the Metaverse
Several celebrities own a piece of the metaverse, indicating how much of a big deal these virtual worlds have become. Snoop Dogg has his own universe called Snoopverse on the Sandbox metaverse. Paris Hilton, model Sara Sampaio, and tennis star Stanislas Wawrinka also own virtual land within metaverses.
Invest in Virtual Real Estate
Metaverse projects subdivide virtual land into parcels that people can purchase. An investor can hold their virtual land and possibly flip it for a profit in the future. They could also monetize it by leasing it to a property developer.
Create and Play Games
Metaverse users can play as well as create their own games. To illustrate, users cannot only play games on Sandbox but also create free 3D games without coding knowledge. Other metaverse games include Decentraland and Axie Infinity.
Host Virtual Events
Hosting a virtual event on your virtual property is a possible way to monetize it. Metaverse events could be more fun than physical events since attendees create avatars, allowing them to become anyone they want to be in cyberspace.
Create Your Own Virtual Avatar
Speaking of virtual avatars, these are customizable metaverse identities that allow people to interact with the virtual world and with other people. You can customize your avatar’s hair color, clothes, gender, accessories, and body type.
Meet New People
Social media isn’t the only place you can virtually meet new people. The metaverse permits people to meet and talk to each other. For instance, Decentraland has a voice chat feature that enables users to communicate with each other.
Hang Out with Friends
Fancy some company? You can invite your friends to play a game with you in the metaverse. You can also invite them to your metaverse wedding like these couples.
Go on a Virtual Shopping Spree
Companies are opening virtual malls and retail stores in metaverses, giving users a chance to go on a shopping spree without leaving their homes.
Sell Virtual Goods
Metaverse marketplaces are places, where users can buy and sell virtual goods. For example, you could sell a rare fancy t-shirt or a unique cool pair of sneakers (in the form of wearable NFTs) on the Decentraland marketplace.
Get a Job and Work
Just like the real world, the metaverse economy creates various job opportunities to meet service demand. That means event planners, real estate lawyers, and real estate developers may find jobs in the metaverse. For example, Tominoya Casino in Decentral Games, a play-to-earn metaverse gaming platform, has hired real-life hosts to assist players that walk in for a blackjack or roulette game.
Collaborate with Your Colleagues
Companies are setting up virtual offices in the metaverse, permitting colleagues to collaborate remotely on tasks.
FAQs
Does Metaverse Mean Video Game?
No. Video games are merely some of the virtual experiences in the metaverse. However, they are not the metaverse.
How Can I Access the Metaverse?
People can experience the metaverse through a smartphone, a computer, or a virtual reality (VR) headset. To access a blockchain-powered metaverse like Decentraland or Sandbox, you need to access the platforms and then connect your crypto wallet to log on.
Is a VR Headset Absolutely Necessary to Experience the Metaverse?
No. Users don’t need a VR headset to use Sandbox, Decentraland, and other metaverses that haven’t implemented virtual reality.
Is the Metaverse Safe?
Users’ safety might depend on the platform, the data they require users to provide, and the information they collect. Facebook’s entry into the metaverse, for example, has raised privacy concerns because of previous data breaches. Blockchain metaverses, on the other hand, could provide some level of anonymity. Nevertheless, they may still collect information such as device type, operating system, and wallet address.
What’s the Future of the Metaverse?
According to Matthew Ball, the metaverse will develop beyond video games in the future. He writes: “The Metaverse will significantly broaden the number of virtual experiences used in everyday life (i.e., well beyond video games, which have existed for decades) and, in turn, expand the number of people who participate in them.”
Sourced from crypto.news.
Written by Alex Lielacher on 2022-08-28 02:00:00.
