You may have already heard about the topic we will be discussing today. The advent of NFTs contributed to increased interest in the subject and, possibly, also in cryptoactives. They are the result of
digitization and technological power, and will increasingly be part of this new form of interaction between people.
I'm talking about metaverses, environments in which people can move between different places and have diverse experiences while remaining socially connected to each other. This news is coming with a vengeance and may indicate what the internet will become in the coming years.
MEANING OF THE CONCEPT OF METAVERSE
The metaverse is a combination of virtual and augmented reality, which immerses the user in a completely digital universe, through the internet. In it, players can build their own worlds and communicate with millions of other participants, where the force that drives the environment is creativity and willingness to interact.
Going out with friends, visiting places, participating in events, shopping, renting land, exhibiting creations in an art gallery… Phew! How much, isn't it? Well, know that all these are just some of the possibilities when we talk about metaverse.
SOURCE
The term was popularized in Neal Stephenson's 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash.
Ernest Cline later used the same concept to create the oasis in his novel “Ready Player One,” which later became a Steven Spielberg film.
POPULARIZATION
The increase in digitization and even the pandemic has made virtual interaction between people essential, and this could become even more common in the coming years.
With the online world changing, people want to be able to create and showcase unique digital identities and experiences. Another point that becomes even more characteristic of these environments is its base in its own economy, where users can easily travel to many places, collecting and storing goods and avatars, paying directly on the platforms developed in the metaverse.
In the metaverse, everything can be negotiated. Something that contributes a lot to this dynamic is cryptoactives, due to their digital nature and efficient for transactions.
METAVERSE AND CRYPTOACTIVES
Many of the virtual worlds created in the metaverse can be based on decentralized applications built on blockchain. Therefore, they can use cryptocurrencies and NFTs, allowing users to trade these virtual assets quickly and securely, in addition to having real possession of these assets.
As in the case of NFTs, a possible increase in the adoption of collective virtual interaction experiences can bring new opportunities for artist and players, which can lead to the emergence of a new generation of business models to the creation of a billion dollar industry, and even even replace social media in the format as we know it.
Some of the best examples of the relationship of cryptoactives to metaverse creations are the games Decentraland and The Sandbox, which developed virtual worlds that integrate cryptocurrencies so that players can create creation structures and monetize them.
Cryptocurrencies can become the official currency and economic tool in the metaverse, with all virtual objects and intangibles
being expressed as NFTs.
DECENTRALAND
One of the applications that demonstrate the potential of the relationship between the metaverse and cryptoactives is Decentraland. Launched in February 2020, Decentraland is a virtual reality game built on the Ethereum blockchain that allows users to buy, sell and build on virtual land.
The purchase of virtual lots, called lands, is made using the ERC-20 MANA token and is registered in smart contracts. The inhabitants of Decentraland are constantly creating scenes and experiences for other users, such as shows and art exhibitions.
There are casinos where you can play in MANA, with employees who are paid in MANA.
Recently, an NFT of a 259 parcel virtual property in Decentraland sold for over $914,000, or 1,295,000 of MANA tokens. The purchase was made by the virtual real estate agency called Republic Realm, which is based in New York. This was the biggest sale of its kind so far.
The company owns a plot of land with the same name as the company, as well as several other virtual properties.
The explosion of NFTs this year is also part of the rise in popularity of virtual land.
The amount of money people are spending on land in these virtual worlds has increased dramatically in 2021. In March alone, there were $4 million in sales.
DECETRALAND VS. SECOND LIFE
What separates Decentraland from its predecessors like Second Life (virtual world owned and operated by a company called Linden Labs) and the Fortnite game is decentralization. The plan, according to the founders of Decentraland, was always for their members to really appropriate the world they built.
Another example of metaverse interaction was the show by rapper Travis Scott, who performed virtually on the game Fortnite to 14 million people. The presentation was also broadcast on Twitch and YouTube.
METAVERSE AND THE GAMES - A PREPARATION FOR WHAT'S TO COME
Games can be seen as preparation for what can be created in the metaverse, since the ways in which we communicate, navigate and think about virtual spaces are all based on the mechanics and systems found in games.
The trend is that the first to adopt the metaverse may be players, as they already have the skills and familiarity with virtual environments. The revenue generated in the video game industry already represents a $180 billion business annually and can represent an interesting source of capital for creations in the metaverse.
ROBLOX
Roblox is another example of metaverse interaction. On this platform, independent developers create games and experiences, ranging from adopting a pet to guided tours of sights. According to a company report, in the first quarter of 2021 alone, more than 42 million users connected daily and in total spent nearly 10 billion hours playing Roblox.
Players also spent $652 million on the site's virtual currency, Robux, which can be used to buy hats, weapons, balloons and other digital items for their characters. The company went public on March 10, and its valuation soared to $45 billion.
In the second quarter, Roblox's revenue increased 127% from the second quarter of 2020 to $454.1 million. Average Daily Active Users (DAUs) was 43.2 million, an increase of 29% year-over-year.
FACEBOOK AND THE METAVERSE
The creator of the most popular social network in the world, Mark Zuckerberg, said recently that he has plans to involve Facebook in creating projects involving the metaverse. The company has assembled a specific team of executives for this purpose.
Among the ideas is the creation of virtual workspaces, to allow multitasking and meetings in a virtual environment, which can contribute to providing more collaborative and productive environments.
According to him, the metaverse can be used as a tool to provide solutions to social inequalities, helping to break down geographic barriers and giving people more opportunities.
The metaverse is being developed and, without a doubt, cryptoactives play a very important role in shaping its future.
As the current entertainment industry leaders get involved in this medium, such as Facebook, which has nearly 3 billion users, it becomes increasingly interesting to closely monitor the evolution of applications created in the metaverse and try to take advantage of the opportunities that can come to emerge from there.
Today, we may be facing something that could become a big trend for years to come and shape the shape of the social media of the future.