Why Is the Metaverse the New Buzz in the Crypto Space? Metaverse the next iteration of the internet, introducing a revolutionary virtual world built on the blockchain.
By Tanveer Zafar Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The reality of an emerging virtual universe built on the internet is already taking hold.
PWC analysts predict that the metaverse will significantly contribute to the global economy, impacting sectors like education tech, health, gaming, and industry 4.0. According to their findings, the metaverse ecosystem could be worth $1.5 trillion by 2030.
As an emerging technology, the metaverse challenges conventional perceptions with new innovative applications that could transform multiple sectors. The new tech promises to create a shared virtual world where participants can feel and interact with the internet as if it were the real world.
The hype surrounding the metaverse concept gained momentum after Facebook changed its name to Meta in a major rebrand. The social media giant is reportedly investing $10B into the new-age technology as it gears up to penetrate the space and support the development of a new immersive world.
As with any new invention, the metaverse has elicited different visualizations and perceptions from people worldwide. This explainer seeks to look deeper into the metaverse to help ordinary folks understand what changes are underway and why the emerging virtual world is a big deal.
What is the Metaverse?
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As the new buzzword in internet technology, the metaverse refers to an alternate digital reality that mirrors the real world where people can socialize, work, play, and trade crypto assets.
The online 3D virtual environment is a game-changer that promises to converge physical and virtual worlds, introduce robust opportunities, and deliver unprecedented virtual experiences for Web 3.0 users.
Though in its infancy, the vast sea of the metaverse is already changing how people interact online using digital avatars and how they build things in an immersive virtual environment.
Founders, futurists, and investors view the metaverse economy as a lucrative industry. These market participants are actively routing massive investments into bringing the Metaverse to life as they seek to usher in the rise of the digital universe.
According to a recent Grayscale report, metaverse projects may present a $1 trillion annual revenue market opportunity across e-commerce, entertainment, hardware, and advertising sectors. The report from the crypto investment giant cited mounting interest and accelerating investment in the virtual 3D universe as the reason for the optimistic forecast.
Metaverse: The Web's Next Frontier
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As a shared virtual world that integrates the physical, augmented, and virtual reality, the metaverse experience is already proving to be a radical technological intervention.
According to Dinis Guarda, founder of blockchain-powered tech company LynKey, crypto-based metaverses combine multiple elements that allow internet users to "live" within a virtual world.
The blockchain is seen as a significant enabler in metaverse transactions, guaranteeing data reliability and safety in the ever-expanding digital universe. The use of an immutable decentralized ledger also helps counter cyber threats that remain a vital concern for the seamless functioning of the metaverse.
The emerging metaverse can be viewed as the internet's next frontier due to its ability to create rich experiences and real-time user interactions in seemingly endless scenarios. For one, the virtual space introduces a new way of accessing new, innovative, and diverse e-commerce opportunities.
The immersive world has also fueled a virtual real estate boom, with companies like Decentraland and Axie Infinity allowing users to buy parcels of virtual land that they can develop. Moreover, the metaverse creates new and customized virtual work environments, which billionaire entrepreneur Bill Gates predicts will host most office meetings in the next few years.
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Reality-based simulations will also introduce immersive entertainment settings and better learning experiences that will prompt more individuals and corporations to tread into the new frontier of metaversality.
These are just a few unique possibilities that could bring value improvement across various sectors and play a role in how the new interconnected virtual world eventually shapes up.
Is the Metaverse Here Yet?
The metaverse is still a work-in-progress in many ways, despite the sector's total market size hitting a whopping $180B in 2020.
According to venture capitalist Matthew Ball, the metaverse isn't a virtual world or a space but rather a natural successor for Web 2.0. He explains that the emerging digital space creates a framework for a highly connected life that will materialize over time as different products, services, and capabilities integrate together.
The metaverse provides an immersive virtual experience similar to the real world, making it a perfect space for gaming. The most recognized metaverse projects in the current market are in the gaming sector. Grayscale, an investment firm that runs the world's biggest crypto fund, estimates that revenue from virtual gaming has the potential to jump to $400B in the next five years.
Related: What to Know Before Investing in Crypto
The metaverse, paired with the intuitive solutions of NFTs, creates an enhanced, more transparent ecosystem that makes blockchain-powered gaming more transparent and rewarding. Projects like Axes Metaverse are leveraging the new tech to deliver engaging play-to-earn gaming while enabling players' ownership by tokenizing characters, lands, and in-game assets. Through Axes Metaverse and NFTs, players can earn real money while playing mobile games.
Metaverse is not a passing fad
The metaverse experience brings not only the next iteration of the internet but so much more. The tech looks set to introduce a revolutionary virtual world built on the blockchain in which users can take ownership of virtual spaces to build, interact, trade, and do whatever else they please.
In conclusion, the prospect of all-encompassing communities built on a 3D virtual space that allows for virtual multi-player gaming, networking, entertainment, dating, and much more is fascinating.
