Grayscale released a report in November 2021 predicting that the Metaverse would grow to be a $1 trillion-dollar market. Two years have passed since this concept became popular. Virtual worlds are now common with celebrities and crypto natives. The nascent crypto community is regarded as one of the most promising niches. It combines the power of Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality (VR), along with Blockchain.
The metaverse is gaining popularity. The first and most important thing is that blockchain-oriented virtual universes may be the closest to Web 3.0. This decentralized web, or Web 2.0, will open new possibilities. This new internet paradigm will allow users to have full control and participate in the decision-making process, thanks to an incentive economy.
But the metaverse is more important because it allows people/institutions the ability to duplicate real-world events in a virtual universe. It is a concept that can provide countless opportunities to interact in advanced settings for casual or professional events and work environments. Imagine a virtual world where one can move around as an Avatar or acquire property to develop and host virtual events, that’s the idea of the metaverse.
“When we talk about the metaverse, we’re describing both a new platform and a new application type, similar to how we talked about the web and websites in the early ’90s. It’s no longer just playing a game with friends. You can be in the game with them.” explained Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella during a The keynote address.
Digital Interactions: A new paradigm
Technology is constantly evolving. This includes the yahoo era through Web 2.0, and most recently the decentralized web. It is possible for future netizens to live in virtual cities. Globalization seems to be more than just connecting the economies. It also bridges the social gap. It is becoming increasingly clear that the metaverse can be used as a vehicle for this latter.
The advent of Non-fungible token infrastructures (NFTs) has opened the door to the development of virtual worlds like Decentraland or The Sandbox. These ecosystems launched the metaverse’s first platforms and are now home to some of most exclusive virtual land parcels. One example is when an investor paid $450,000 to purchase a piece next to Snoop Dogg in The Sandbox.
While such an investment may not add up to most people in today’s world, it is certainly making sense to celebrities and creatives. CEEK, a metaverse ecosystem that mainly adds value to the creator economic system, is a more sophisticated option. A land auction was launched recently by the project, which featured 10,000 parcels that could be used to showcase or host virtual events.
“This is the first step to launch the first truly community-owned metaverse where creators get a meaningful share of their hard work.” noted Mary Spio, CEO of CEEK.
This has been true for a while, but celebrities and artists are often limited geographically. Additionally, Web 2.0 service platforms end up taking the lion’s share of a creator’s revenue when disseminated through channels such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. As the metaverse emerges, the market will shift in favor creators. No wonder that technology giants also seek to take a slice of this rapidly growing market.
“Our hope is that within the next decade, the metaverse will reach a billion people, host hundreds of billions of dollars of digital commerce, and support jobs for millions of creators and developers.” said Mark Zuckerberg in Meta’s 2021 Founder’s Letter.
The Horizon: Looking into the Future
It is too soon to know what direction the metaverse might take, as it stands. Will it be constructed by central intermediaries, or decentralized blockchains like Ethereum. A combined effort would create interoperable universes. However, only time will tell what the future holds. One thing is certain, however: we will soon live in computers.