The Metaverse is poised to become a major contributor to the world economy.
In 2021 novelist Neil Stephenson often has one person responsible for hearing or reading about the Metaverse. Stephenson in his 1992 dystopian novel Snow Crash coined the term Metaverse to describe a 3-dimensional virtual world where humans interact as ‘avatars’. For the uneducated, ‘avatars’ are graphical representations of real-life humans. Fast forward to 2021 and the metaverse is one of the best words of the year. But the metaverse is no longer just a word, but a potentially path-breaking Internet-enabled space with multi-regional usage.
The following is your 10-point cheatsheet on the Metaverse:
-
There is no single definition of the metaverse, which is a combination of two words – ‘meta’ which in Greek means beyond, and the universe. So, one can translate ‘the metaverse’ to ‘beyond the universe’.
-
According to Dinis Garda, founder of Linkee, a blockchain-powered prop-tech platform, the metaverse space is a combination of several elements, where users can “live” and interact with other users within a digital universe. Some of the elements included in the metaverse include blockchain technology, virtual reality, augmented reality, and game theory.
-
Blockchain technology, which allows for trustless transactions and unquestionable ownership of assets, is being seen as a major enabler in metaverse transactions. Dominic Ryder, CEO of Vampire, a decentralized Metaverse investment organization, said Metaverse allows users to buy, sell or upgrade their assets, such as houses, weapons or skins, in a virtual space. According to a report from Grayscale, people have already spent about $200 million in Metaverse item sales.
-
As the metaverse space expands, so will the amount of data it generates. Many experts believe that this will raise questions about the reliability and security of the data. Blockchain technology, known for its data security and immutability, is being seen as the only solution to the problem.
-
The Metaverse is also fueling the virtual real estate boom. For example, Decentraland, a metaverse built on the Ethereum blockchain, allows users to purchase virtual plots of land through MANA, an in-house cryptocurrency. Other platforms such as Axi Infinity and Sandbox also allow users to purchase virtual assets in cryptocurrencies.
-
The metaverse is also becoming a lucrative industry in its own right. As Grayscale reports, the market opportunity to “bring the metaverse to life” could result in more than $1 trillion in annual revenue. Additionally, Metaverse, the report argues, will compete with Web 2.0 companies like Facebook.
-
Facebook is, in fact, interested in the metaverse space, reports have indicated. As part of its efforts to enter the space, Facebook recently rebranded itself ‘Meta’ and is reportedly investing $10 billion in it.
-
Given that the Metaverse provides an immersive virtual experience similar to the real world, this is a natural “next frontier” for the gaming industry. “In addition to creating a better ecosystem and making gaming more transparent, Metaverse is coupled with a growing number of solutions for non-fungible tokens, which will help to offer better engagement, virality, and monetization of games,” Garda said.
-
The Metaverse is poised to become a major contributor to the world economy. PWC predicts that the Metaverse ecosystem will be worth more than ₹1.5 trillion by 2030, impacting sectors such as gaming, healthcare, ed-tech, and “Industry 4.0.” “Play-to-earnings applications are creating a new economy where service roles and monotonous roles can be replaced with new fun ways to earn money,” Ryder said, adding that such an economy would give the low-wage worker more freedom.
-
Celebrities are already riding the Metaverse bandwagon, with many creating their own virtually ‘avatars’ and monetizing them as merchandise. “This is an opportunity for artists and influencers to better reach their fans and build new businesses,” said Garda.
,