The metaverse. Ever since Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook (now Meta) was pinning its hopes on the Metaverse, this thing boomed. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts, enterprising businessmen, and even social media fanatics are now talking about this “Virtual Life”.
However, can you see through the multiple layers of the metaverse? Is the metaverse really worth investing in? Do you even know what the metaverse is?
If you’re just a clueless lad jumping on the metaverse hype train, don’t worry! In this article, we’ll be taking a deep dive into the intricacies of the metaverse, allowing you to appreciate (or discriminate) the metaverse for what it truly is.
Before we dive right in, here’s a heads up of what we’ll be covering in this comprehensive article. For starters, we’ll be going through the basics of the metaverse, like what it is and its importance. Next, we’ll take a look into the current atmosphere of the metaverse, and how different systems play their part in the virtual universe. To conclude, we’ll explore countless possibilities for the metaverse in the future, and what part you can play in it.
Table of Contents
- The Metaverse: Is This Our Future?
- Chapter 1a: What Is The Metaverse?
- Chapter 1b: The Impact Of The Metaverse
- Chapter 2a: The Current State Of The Metaverse
- Chapter 2b: Crypto, NFTs, and more in the Metaverse
- Chapter 3: Should You Join The Metaverse?
Without further ado, let’s get right into it!
Chapter 1a: What Is The Metaverse?
Unfortunately, there is no singular or simple definition of the metaverse. This is because the metaverse isn’t a reality yet — different groups have unique visions of what the metaverse should look like.
This is my take on the metaverse.
The Metaverse makes use of select advanced technologies to shape a lifelike, virtual universe. Some of the technologies most commonly associated with the metaverse are Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and video/camera.
Let’s be honest; this definition didn’t really make stuff about the metaverse much clearer. Since we can’t experience the metaverse firsthand, perhaps breaking it down into bite-sized pieces will be easier to digest.
Metaverse: Fairness At Its Finest
For starters, metaverses reside on the blockchain. A blockchain is a public ledger storing tons of information, distributed across a network of computers and servers. This idea of a public ledger gives the metaverse complete transparency. Everything happening in the metaverse is available for public consumption, should you choose to find it.
More importantly, nobody owns the blockchain. Experts call the blockchain a decentralized system. In other words, even governments or wealthy organizations have no way of taking control over the blockchain. This also means nobody can hack or change what happened in the metaverse under any circumstances. Once done, it cannot be undone.
Last but certainly not least, the metaverse isn’t regulated by humans. All the handling of transactions is automated by the system, allowing no room for human corruption. Well, unless the computer system gains a human consciousness and becomes corrupted!
It’s undeniable that the metaverse will be transparent, equal, and free from corruption. These could be three crucial reasons why the metaverse can be our “perfect” virtual world. Ironically, by making people have no control of the operations of the metaverse, it makes things much fairer for all.
So, now you know all about the metaverse? No! What we’ve talked about so far is just a bunch of code that won’t make any sense to the average Joe. If you want to visualize the real, lifelike metaverse, that’s where the advanced technologies come in.
Virtual Reality (VR)
Virtual Reality is just fictional graphics put together in a simulation to feel lifelike. What you experience in virtual reality is not connected to the real world at all, it’s imaginary. You can think of virtual reality like a video game, just that you’re one of the characters inside.
There is some equipment you’ll need to get the full VR experience. As a baseline, you should have a VR headset, which allows you to “see” the simulation in action. You can choose standalone VR headsets, or VR headsets compatible with a computer or smartphone.
The next thing you’ll need is controllers. Most VR gear comes with 2 controllers, allowing you to control your avatar’s movements in the virtual world. With the addition of controllers, the metaverse is literally at your fingertips.
Augmented Reality (AR)
Augmented Reality uses real-world features to shape your AR experience. Instead of exploring a fictional world, augmented reality digitally enhances objects in the real world, converting them into 3D images in the virtual world. You’re technically interacting with both virtual and physical worlds with the power of augmented reality.
Unlike Virtual Reality, the setup for AR is much simpler. You’ll just need a smartphone with a working camera to experience augmented reality. Through AR apps or software, the real-world images captured by your camera will be analyzed and substituted on the spot for virtual images.
Although you’re not submerged into a virtual fairytale environment, AR technology allows you to visualize real-world items differently yet physically touch them at the same time. For example, a chair in real life could be seen as a racing car seat in the metaverse, so you can enhance both visual and tactile experiences with augmented reality!
While VR and AR both have their pros and cons, I personally think that putting them together will create the ultimate metaverse experience. With the immersive VR picture quality mixed with the realism of AR, who knows what the metaverse has to offer?
Now that you know a little more about how the metaverse works, what can you actually do in the metaverse?
What Can You Do In The Metaverse?
Oh… the possibilities are endless. From competitive blockchain gaming to intense work sessions, NFT marketplacehaggling to cryptocurrency trading — almost everything we do in real life can be applied to the metaverse.
The current metaverse trend is buying virtual houses or property. Yes, businessmen, celebrities, and retail investors are pouring millions of dollars into metaverse land, which seems foolish or pointless to many.
That leads us to the bigger question, is the metaverse important? Surely, these people aren’t just throwing money down some internet Ponzi scheme, right?
Chapter 1b: The Impact Of The Metaverse
On a personal level, the importance of the metaverse is subjective. However, the metaverse is undoubtedly important to today’s society — it could very well change our way of life, or even have a drastic impact on real-world events. And yes, I’ll put my money on the metaverse not being a giant Ponzi scheme.
But why is the metaverse so important? Here’s a bit of metaverse history to help you understand the context.
The Metaverse Beginnings
They say it all began with Neal Stephenson’s dystopian cyberpunk novel Snow Crash, the birthplace of the word “Metaverse”. This sci-fi book published in 1992 depicts a world where people existed in both physical and virtual worlds. No spoilers ahead, but escaping a mafia in both the metaverse and IRL seems to be a legit plot!
However, a more accurate representation of the metaverse could be Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One. This sci-fi set in 2045 has even been turned into a movie directed by Steven Speilberg; and I think the advanced VR gear, awesome virtual world graphics, as well as futuristic bodysuits could be part of our future.
This may surprise you… but the concept of a metaverse already existed way before these sci-fi novels. As experts in the field point out, virtual spaces are already part of our daily lives. Chat messengers, online communities, heck, even social media! The fact that we can interact with one another online means that we’re already experiencing an essential feature of the metaverse; communication.
Given that governments around the world are driving digital literacy and adoption, it’s no wonder that our society wants to take a step further. Communication was just toe-dipping into the metaverse. Now, we’re ready for the real deal.
Importance Of The Metaverse
As we race through this age of digital enlightenment, developing the metaverse takes us a step further into technological advancement. For this reason, the metaverse is important. But it’s not just this. The metaverse will bring many benefits, some that we don’t even realize yet.
For example, the metaverse will create a totally new industry, an industry worth trillions of dollars according to the CEO of Ark Invest Cathie Woods. This will create uncountably many job opportunities for our future generations, in a place with unlimited growth potential.
A metaverse is also a place for online interactions. In a situation such as the pandemic we’re currently facing, who’s truly satisfied with the boring and unproductive Zoom meetings? In the metaverse, online meetings will be almost like face-to-face ones, ironically, bringing back the “human touch”.
Finally, this is your opportunity to be a part of the future. Some people make it big in the real world, but many more can do so too in the metaverse. In other words, the metaverse is our fresh start to have another shot at an ideal life. To be honest, the thought of leading double lives is pretty exciting to me!
To sum up, the impact of the metaverse is huge. On a personal, societal, and global level, we should embrace the metaverse with open arms. With this extra knowledge of the metaverse in mind, we can finally move on to the next part of this article.
What does the metaverse look like right now? Who are the major players in the game? How can you play your part in the metaverse?
Stay tuned to find out.
Chapter 2a: The Current State Of The Metaverse
The current state of the metaverse: Imaginary. But if you disregard the AR and VR aspects, the metaverse is already here. In fact, the metaverse has been existing for years under the guise of video games. Now with a slight tweak to their business models, these blockchain games may very well be the future metaverse.
But if metaverses are just video games with a tweaked model… then isn’t it already overcrowded with too many metaverses? On closer inspection, let’s just say that the current state of the metaverse is: Messy.
The Current Metaverse Mess
If you don’t understand the metaverse and how to get into it, I don’t blame you. After all, the metaverse is in a gigantic state of mess. Whether it be the confusion between the metaverse and other games, the underdevelopment of the virtual world, or just the overcompetitiveness of it all, these factors all throw the metaverse into chaos.
To simplify matters, these are the 3 core reasons for the messy metaverse we have right now.
- Underdeveloped and Unfinished
- Blurred Lines between the metaverse and video games
- Overcrowding and Uncertainty
Let’s dig deeper into these three key points.
Underdeveloped and Unfinished
As we mentioned earlier in Chapter 1, the metaverse is still under development. This means that many virtual worlds are still in the BETA stage, testing their universes to check for any technical errors. In that case, these metaverses can appear primitive or have poor quality graphics, definitely not a good experience for users.
Another lacking feature is the difficulty of navigation in the metaverse. Unfinished worlds mean missing links between certain functions, a shortage of activities, and especially little interest in the metaverse. Essentially, metaverses “Under construction” does not appeal to the masses, and could just seem like another MMORPG (role-playing exploration) video game.
Blurred Lines Between The Metaverse And Video Games
The almost identical nature of the metaverse and video games is the direct result of underdeveloped metaverses. More specifically, the lack of AR and VR technologies implemented into the metaverse, as well as poor integration between multiple platforms, makes the similarities more striking. Perhaps the only difference is that the metaverse exists on the blockchain while typical video games do not.
At this point, you may be wondering what’s the matter if the metaverse is just like video games? After all, can’t video games be fitted with AR/VR technology as well? While the gaming industry is huge, it would never measure up to the metaverse. Unlike gaming, the metaverse is built to replicate all the industries we currently have and more. That takes way more interlinking and cross-platform connections to make the virtual world lifelike and worth investing in.
Overcrowding and Uncertainty
If you don’t already know, there are hundreds and thousands of wannabe metaverses out there. While this creates healthy competition for further advancements in the virtual world, the industry is getting a little oversaturated. There are too many metaverses with different universes, so who’s to tell which will succeed?
This also creates a dilemma for investors, especially those hoping to put their life savings into the metaverse. Which metaverse should you choose? If a plot of land in a metaverse already costs thousands of dollars, how can anyone be sure that they can sell the virtual land off to another interested buyer in the future?
With too many players in the market, most are doomed to fail. Considering the huge risk in this situation, many would think twice before having their skin in the game. As such, this uncertainty makes people wary of the mess in the metaverse.
While the metaverse lies in a state of chaos, this mess actually presents a unique opportunity. No joke, it could be the opportunity of your lifetime. Next, we’ll be taking a look at three leading metaverses (or soon-to-be metaverses), as well as Meta’s universe currently in development.
The Metaverse Giants
Based on native token market capitalization, dollars flowing through these metaverses, as well as overall popularity, we have picked out three kings in the current metaverse scene. They are Decentraland, Axie Infinity, and The Sandbox.
As current market leaders, they could very well be THE metaverse of the future. Well, it all comes down to which verse you bet your crypto on!
Decentraland
Decentraland is the OG metaverse on the blockchain. First launched in 2015 as a pixelated grid world that sold pixels to interested parties, Decentraland has since evolved into a full-blown 3D virtual world. Back in 2017, each piece of land in this metaverse was as little as $20. Now, the cheapest plot of land costs around $10,000.
Decentraland is a metaverse built on the Ethereum blockchain, consisting of 90,601 parcels of LAND (Each plot of land is called a parcel). Two adjacent parcels of LAND form an Estate, which typically has more value than separate parcels of LAND. Decentraland’s native token is MANA (ERC-20 token), asking for a price of around USD 3.50 at the time of this writing. There are a total of 2.6 billion MANA tokens that will ever exist.
On this metaverse, you can create, transact, and explore. Decentraland has a no-code builder for you to create designs on a plot of land. They have built-in templates and objects for you to add to your parcel of land, and you can mix and match items from different themes. When you’re done, you can upload your design onto your LAND on the metaverse!
Decentraland also has a marketplace for users to buy and sell in-verse items. Take note that all transactable items in Decentraland are NFTs, including LAND, wearables, and even names! All these NFTs will be visualized in the metaverse itself, so they could be both investments and collectibles at the same time.
Finally, everyone can explore Decentraland. You can sign in with your Metamask wallet to enjoy the full experience, or play as a guest on this metaverse with limited features. Remember that the metaverse is built by its users, so you can have a look around what other creators have done, and enjoy games and facilities if possible!
On the topic of governance and advancements, Decentraland DAO is in charge of these matters. A DAO is a group of people who vote on changes to an entity, in this case, Decentraland. Everything, from adding new parcels of land in the metaverse to banning a name from the universe, requires the approval of the DAO.
As a member of the DAO, you get voting rights to determine how Decentraland should be run. They use VP (Voting Power) as a way of measuring popularity, and 1 MANA translates to 1VP, while every LAND you own contributes 2000VP. In Decentraland’s eyes, the more MANA and LAND someone owns, the more skin they have in this metaverse, hence a higher voting power they’ll get.
In a nutshell, Decentraland has been developing its metaverse for the longest time. This gives them an edge over competitors and their experience in this space is top-notch. If you’re looking to enter the metaverse, Decentraland could be the most tried and tested pick.
Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is one of the most famed play-to-earn blockchain games, and is currently making developments to evolve into a metaverse. Axie Infinity debuted as a game on the Ethereum Blockchain back in early 2018, and is now the most popular blockchain game with the most number of monthly active users.
You’ll need three Axies (in-game characters) to start playing, and win AXS (their native token) by battling, exploring, completing quests, and even breeding. The base price of an Axie is roughly $100, and the price of AXS currently stands at around $110.
While Axie Infinity looks like just another blockchain game, they are starting to edge into the metaverse zone. Don’t let the Pokemon-inspired Axies fool you, who said the metaverse had to be populated with human avatars?
Axie Infinity will be launching land for sale soon. The Axie Homeland, Lunacia, consists of 90,601 plots of land. Players can buy, sell, and rent out these plots of land, as well as to conduct PvE battles on them. However, only 17,241 plots of land (25% of the total supply) will be available for now, with the rest of the land released in the next phase of this project.
The next phase of the land rollout has an aim to make Lunacia a virtual world, in other words, a metaverse. Players will be able to create their own games and store them on their plots of land, letting others experience user-generated content. Also note that there will be different types of land in Axie Infinity, each having a different total supply (and hence the difference in rarity/value).
On your plot of Lunacia land, you can host events, start up a business, have first access to drops on your land, or even rent it out! Axie Infinity has a lot of benefits lined up for owners of the land, so you could be making your money back in the form of AXS tokens in time to come.
On the Axie Infinity marketplace, you can trade Axies, Land, and items with others. You can buy or sell these NFTs for the listed amount of Ethereum. Each NFT has specific benefits when used in the game, so they’re not just “useless” pieces of digital art.
To sum up, Axie Infinity is a veteran in the blockchain gaming space, and is currently making moves into the metaverse. As we covered previously, the lines between the metaverse and gaming industries are blurred. Who knows, maybe Axie Infinity will make a successful transition to become the leading metaverse?
The Sandbox
The Sandbox is a Minecraft-style metaverse based on the Ethereum blockchain. However, this wasn’t always the case. The Sandbox actually started way back in 2012, where it was created as a mobile game for IOS and Android, and had a compatible version for Windows. But since its acquisition in 2018 by Animoca Brands, the Sandbox has since been turned into a metaverse.
After four years of development, the Sandbox is finally available for players to enjoy. While this is just the BETA stage in which people had to buy a Sandbox access token NFT to “Play the Alpha”, others can also explore the virtual world with limited features.
The Sandbox has a total of 166,464 lands in their metaverse, more LAND than the two other metaverses we’ve talked about so far. This metaverse has a native cryptocurrency called SAND, currently priced at around USD 5.50.
Currently, you can access The Sandbox Alpha to explore this virtual world, play games, engage in activities, or even attend exclusive events. To explore the Sandbox, you’ll have to create an account by linking your Metamask wallet, connecting a social media account, or going the old school way by using email.
The Sandbox marketplace is a place to buy and sell NFTs. This extensive collection includes LAND, entities, wearables, equipment, as well as art. You may need to head over to their Opensea collection to buy LAND with Ether. There are also collections on the marketplace designed by big companies and influencers, so you can support your favorite names here.
On the Sandbox, you can use your LAND in various ways. From transforming it into a business and hosting events, to creating user-generated games and even making it your home, your options are endless. You can also use the LAND to generate income on the side to fund your future endeavors.
In conclusion, the Sandbox is an amazing metaverse to invest in. Based on the BETA’s graphics yet simplistic interface of the metaverse, The Sandbox is my personal favorite. By building this virtual world for years, and partnering with some of the biggest names, The Sandbox has a strong foundation and should only grow from here.
So there you have it! Here’s the current state of the metaverse: Three giants battling it out for supremacy. It’s up to you to decide which project suits your vision of the future best, and I hope you invest in the right one!
Now, on to the much anticipated Horizon Worlds, Meta’s metaverse. We’ll be taking a skeptical look towards their metaverse, and the challenges ahead Meta will face.
Horizon Worlds: Meta’s Plot or Flop?
The announcement of Horizon Worlds, aided with Facebook’s change of name to Meta, is arguably the spark that lit the fire to power the metaverse hype train. While Horizon Worlds is showing true potential even at its developmental stage, along with Meta’s acquisition of VR gear business Oculus, there has been some criticism showered on Meta.
Pioneers in the field like the creator of Second Life Philip Rosedale or CTO of Oculus (yes, the same company Meta acquired) are expressing concerns over Meta’s metaverse. But why is that the case? Here’s a little bit about Horizon Worlds before we get into that.
Horizon Worlds
Horizon Worlds is Meta’s brainchild, seen as a potential contender for THE future metaverse. They are currently in the BETA stage, or an invite-only phase of development. Through the videos and snippets of Horizon Worlds, the graphics seem to be a cross between Wii and Roblox, but yet filled with realistic avatars with defining features.
Horizon Worlds is available for Windows users, but you need an Oculus VR headset (Rift S or Quest 2) to experience this metaverse. Unlike the three developing metaverses we talked about earlier, Horizon Worlds wants its public launch to have the fully-developed metaverse concept.
Based on Meta’s press releases and website content, Horizon Worlds is heavily focused on user-generated creations. They have some novel features like Hand Tools, Gizmos, and Scripting to be released in the metaverse, optimized to help creators build their masterpieces.
As the Metaverse base, Meta will be naming it the Horizon Home. This is where players “land” when they enter the metaverse. There are many other plans set in place, including VR messenger calls, gaming, fitness, Augmented reality, and much more to be added into the metaverse.
There will also be Horizon Workrooms, a place for virtual meetings related to work. Meta is also launching Presence Platform, a feature-packed system for digital creators, as well as Project Cambria, a higher-end all-in-one VR gear package for users.
With this roadmap of details lined out for Horizon Worlds, we should expect a generally positive sentiment for this metaverse. However, there is a lot of skepticism going around with Meta centralizing the metaverse and destroying the concept fundamentally. It sounds crazy, but are these claims really baseless?
The Horizon Worlds Controversy
When the announcement of Horizon Worlds was made, investors went nuts about the potential future metaverse. Upon closer inspection, there were a few gaping holes in this project.
For starters, some people were skeptical about the metaverse serving the needs of everyone. One such skeptic is the founder and creator of Second Life, a game where people can enter a virtual world game that emulates the real world.
As Philip Rosedale (creator of Second Life) claimed, the metaverse just isn’t for everyone. The truth of the matter is that a substantial percentage of the general public may not even want to enter this online world, or wear VR gear every time they enter the metaverse. As a result, attracting the masses to Horizon Worlds can pose a huge problem.
The more pressing matter is Meta’s track record. It is common knowledge that Facebook has had a dark history of selling personal information, allowing fake news to spread rampantly, and allowing hate speech or offensive content to remain on the platform for long periods. Now by taking engagement a step further by promoting Horizon Worlds, who can trust Meta to safeguard their private data?
The internet is a scary place. And a conglomerate stealing and selling your data is a scarier thought. That’s why critics say that Horizon Worlds should be created by “Anyone but Meta”, because of trust issues in the past. We don’t want our future metaverse to be spoiled by a company with a poor track record.
While the metaverse is raging with all this drama, more and more influential names are joining the scene. Next, we’ll head on to the people, brands, and businesses establishing their influence in the metaverse.
Who Is In The Metaverse?
People follow the money, and the metaverse has a huge pot of (virtual) gold. Anyway, influencers and businesses alike will be looking to make advancements into the metaverse.
Celebrities and social media influencers have already flooded into the metaverse. Famous celebrities like Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, and Justin Bieber have already hosted live virtual events on various platforms. Epic Games makes use of their game Fortnite to host these live concerts, could they be interested in the metaverse concept as well?
Luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Balenciaga, and many more have been releasing NFT collections in different virtual realms. Some of these “branded” NFTs aren’t even in the metaverse; they’re just for brand appreciation or bragging rights. Still, the sporting brand Nike and Adidas are both preparing to launch apparel in the metaverse. These clothes will actually be wearable by avatars in the metaverse, a point where the physical and virtual worlds connect!
Finally, blockchain investment companies are also entering the metaverse. Digital assets investment company Tokens.com recently purchased an estate on Decentraland’s prime land “Fashion Street”. The purchase cost over 600 thousand MANA, about 2.4 million dollars. This is just the beginning of companies buying their slice of the metaverse… and the prices are just going to keep rising.
Wow, Chapter 2a was a long read! This shows the complex state of the metaverse at the moment, and I’m the future ahead for the metaverse will be exciting. Next, we’ll be touching on other web3 assets and their role in the metaverse.
Chapter 2b: Crypto, NFTs, and more in the Metaverse
The Metaverse, whilst piled with advanced technologies like AR, VR, and more, cannot properly function without a few fundamental building blocks. Like in the real world, there are some things that humans absolutely need to build a society properly. And nope, the metaverse isn’t exempt from that.
In this chapter, we’ll be discussing some of these essentials that every virtual world should have, and what it means for the metaverse.
Cryptocurrency
Of course… Money makes the world go round. Likewise, Cryptocurrency makes the metaverse develop properly.
Cryptocurrency is digital money, it can be traded, earned, invested, and more. Unlike real hard cash, cryptocurrency exists on the blockchain, not physically tangible. Running on the blockchain, cryptocurrency is decentralized and managed by the system, making it a trustable and reliable token of exchange.
Furthermore, cryptocurrency can be transacted from anywhere in the world. Most crypto transactions are also fast and bear low fees, making transfers cheap and easy. Finally, cryptocurrency is a currency accepted in many regions around the globe, making it accessible for most of us. What better currency than crypto is there for metaverses?
In the metaverse, crypto plays a huge role in all the transactions of the blockchain. From buying and selling digital assets, to collecting rents and paying for event tickets in the metaverse, millions of dollars will be flowing through the metaverse at any given moment. That’s why having a robust system to handle the transaction counts is important, but luckily, that’s all handled by the blockchain.
In most virtual worlds, the accepted token is their native token. However, most metaverses will probably start accepting other established cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum’s Ether and Polygon’s Matic.
With the metaverse presenting itself as an opportunity for people to work and make a living there in the near future, cryptocurrency is definitely here to stay. The real question is, will Ethereum continue to be the go-to crypto for all metaverse transactions? We’ll just have to wait and see!
NFTs
What is the metaverse without NFTs? Nothing! NFTs make up the design and detail of the metaverse. Everything, from plots of land to wearables on avatars, is NFTs.
NFTs, also known as non-fungible tokens, are pieces of digital art. Like cryptocurrency, they exist on the blockchain, and hence aren’t tangible (or touchable) in the real world. The creation of NFTs followed soon after the birth of Bitcoin, so I guess NFTs have played an integral part in the web3 community.
While NFTs were just viewed as artworks to appreciate in the beginning, it is now changing to serve a greater purpose. In the early days of NFTs, people owned Cryptopunks and Apes from the Bored Ape Yacht Club. These were just pieces of digital art in a large collection, with little meaning other than for bragging rights and proof of being a pioneer in NFT curation.
As a result, critics took to ridicule the whole NFT movement with those “Right click to save” memes. While the concept of owning an NFT is all about proof of work etched in the blockchain, hordes of pea-brains saw “ownership” as simply having the picture of an NFT.
But anyway, this argument of what constitutes ownership will soon be over. With the power of the metaverse, people will be able to visualize what this NFT means, giving it some other use rather than just proof of work. In other words, owning an NFT (for example a piece of clothing or a plot of land), can be worn or built on in the metaverse.
In other scenarios, NFTs are also used as access tokens to unlock special features in the metaverse. In some online worlds, NFTs are used as BETA access codes, while they are used as membership profiles in others. Truly, because of this unique signature in the blockchain, NFTs play a significant role in shaping the metaverse.
DAOs
Now that we’ve got people willing to carry out activities in the metaverse for crypto, as well as NFTs to assist with the visuals, there is one final piece to the puzzle. Governance.
DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) are groups of people that manage a community or project. In DAOs, every action of the organization must be voted on and will only be passed if the majority agrees (usually). This varies from DAO to DAO, but in general, all DAOs have this concept of pure democracy.
Since we’re trying to keep all actions transparent and fair, DAOs have a neat way of recording all activity — storing it on a ledger. This ensures that there are no under-the-table deals or corrupt trades behind closed doors, keeping the system fair and free from manipulation.
Typically, members with more stake in a project will receive more voting power. For example, if you own more property and cryptocurrency in the metaverse Decentraland, you’ll have more voting rights whenever the DAO tries to pass a petition through. It is only fair that those who have contributed more or invested more time, energy, and money to the community, should get more power in the DAO.
In the context of the metaverse, DAOs are vital to making important decisions for the virtual world. If the metaverse is facing an attack, it’s the DAOs responsibility to vote on a decisive course of action to neutralize the attack. If the metaverse receives some unexpected earnings to develop the virtual world, members of the DAO should make wise decisions on how to use those funds.
To put it bluntly, the fate of the metaverse depends on the members of the metaverse DAO. So if you’re one of them, remember to make rational decisions!
To conclude, the metaverse wouldn’t be complete without cryptocurrency, NFTs, and DAOs. While there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes in the development of the metaverse, these three aspects should not be neglected by creators and users alike. In fact, we should strive to drive adoption for crypto, brighten NFTs’ reputation, and increase participation in DAOs!
Chapter 3: Should You Join The Metaverse?
After all is said and done, should you join the metaverse?
Ultimately, the choice is yours. Joining the metaverse could help you to multiply your money by the hundreds and let you have a place in the future; but it could also lead to you losing an entire investment and being shamed as one of the “fools” who fell for a rug pull.
Likewise, staying out of the metaverse can be a wise or foolish choice. My advice is to evaluate your options, measure your tolerance of risk, and invest whatever time, money, or energy that you can afford to lose.
Here are some strategies you can follow in your endeavor into the metaverse.
Disclaimer: There may be some over-generalizations ahead.
Youngsters: No Money, Have Time and Energy
In the holiday season, time is on your side. As a youngster, you may not have enough to invest into a 10K metaverse property, but you should have the time and energy to earn some cryptocurrency in the metaverse!
Previously, we discussed the blockchain game – turning metaverse, Axie Infinity. If you’re a passionate gamer, you can offer your Axie battling services to busy Axie owners, in exchange for a percentage cut of the profits. This is called an Axie scholarship, taken advantage of by rich investors and crypto-hungry gamers alike.
With the metaverse rapidly rolling out new play-to-earn blockchain games, more opportunities to earn cryptocurrency while gaming will come soon. Grind hard, and you may be able to own your plots of land in time to come!
Adults: Some Money, No Time, Some Energy
As part of the working-class, time isn’t exactly on your side. However, you can still make use of what spare cash and reserves of energy to invest in the metaverse. By this, I mean that investing in metaverse tokens could be the right option for you.
Think about this: As a metaverse advances and becomes more popular, the value of its in-verse cryptocurrency will also increase. So, you can invest in a metaverse’s success (or demise) by banking your crypto on their tokens. This takes relatively little energy, as all you have to do is set up a crypto trading account and buy into the token.
Furthermore, you’ll have voting rights and be part of DAOs in the metaverse. I bet you would appreciate some governance power once in a while!
Elders: Money, Time, But Little Energy
If you’re enjoying your retirement staring at a TV screen 24/7, maybe it’s time to try something else. You could put your money into the metaverse, and buy plots of land that may appreciate in value in the future.
While investing and trading could be a little bit of a problem, I’m sure you’ll recognize the value of real estate, albeit it being in the virtual world. Perhaps you could make contributions to the DAO, ideas on community management, or even just general advice and leadership when governing the metaverse.
With so much skin in the game at a ripe old age, you’ll be the owners of the future!
So that was my two cents on playing your part in the metaverse. Even if you’re a youngster, there’s no problem starting to invest or even trying out governance in the metaverse. The same applies at any age of your life.
Joining the metaverse is a tough choice to make, especially for those alien to 21st-century technology. But hey, maybe this article will be the start of your metaverse journey!
After all, as we crypto, NFT, blockchain, web3, metaverse enthusiasts say, “We’re still early.”.
