Mark Zuckerberg may have got people talking when he changed the name of his company to Meta in November 2021, the move signaled the transition of Facebook to the Metaverse. Facebook has invested about $10 billion in the Metaverse through its Reality labs. Other big tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Invidia, and gaming platforms like Roblox have also invested in different Metaverse products and projects.
Experts have projected that the Metaverse industry will be worth $400 billion dollars in 2025 up from its $180 billion valuations in 2020. The Metaverse will disrupt the existing technologies, creating more value in a new digital environment. Although the Metaverse is still a work in progress, the big tech companies seem to have moved ahead of the disruption.
The Metaverse refers to a new world of virtual reality that will revolutionize the way humans interact, work and play together. The metaverse provides a truly immersive experience that allows us to assume digital identities with the aid of AR and VR devices. This virtual world is particularly seen in the gaming industry where players assume fictional identities to play games.
Apart from gaming, the metaverse finds even more applications in attending virtual events like concerts, exhibitions as well as virtual museums, work, business meetings, virtual shopping and so much more. Projects like Decentraland, Sandbox, and NextEarth allow users to buy and own virtual lands in the Metaverse which can be traded in the future for crypto.
Many companies have transitioned into the Metaverse, with the likes of Shopify allowing retailers to upload virtual reality and 3D versions of their products to create a better buyer-seller relation in the Metaverse.
Shopify and Roblox, an online gaming platform that provides a metaverse environment continues to record millions of dollars in revenue even after the pandemic, which created more demand for their products. Meta stocks may have dipped by 42% in February this year, due to challenges with Apple advertising policy, but experts predict that the Meta still has a huge potential as the Metaverse adoption grows.
The blockchain is an encrypted digital ledger that guarantees immutability, security, decentralization, and availability to everyone regardless of one’s location on the planet. Blockchain technology facilitates the creation and exchange of value in the Metaverse, especially in the gaming industry where players can earn tokens that can be traded for cash on exchanges.
Many Metaverse projects have been launched in the blockchain with the biggest names Sandbox, Decentraland (mana), and Axie Infinity recording more than $2 billion in market capitalization according to Coinmarketcap.
Decentraland currently boasts the highest market cap with $4,373,849,268 and an all-time high of $5.85 recorded in Nov 2021, while sandbox has an all-time high of $8.44. Axie Infinity also has an all-time high of $165.37 recorded also in Nov 2021.
The Metaverse promises a world of closer interaction and opportunity to transact virtually with almost anyone. Big companies like Shopify will allow you to shop virtually and maybe have products delivered to you in the physical world.
You can even go on virtual shopping in the Metaverse and see a 3D model of what you plan to buy. You will be able to purchase your favorite music, games, videos, and Apps. Since your wallet will be linked to your ID, every payment will be charged to your crypto wallet.
People can exchange virtual and in-game assets like Avatars, costumes, NFTs, as well as save them in their wallets, and sell them on the NFT marketplace for crypto. Big Metaverse projects like Sandbox have an NFT marketplace where you can sell and buy in-game assets using the native token SAND.
For most Metaverse projects, their native token remains the major currency and any NFT gained will eventually be converted into crypto. Also, as the Metaverse ecosystem grows with more participants and Use cases, the demand for the token will definitely increase. There will be a need to provide even more liquidity through the DEXs. Sandbox at the time of writing has about $123.93m total value locked in DEXs according to data from Defillama.
The Metaverse is the next big thing even though it is still a work in progress. It promises interesting possibilities for humans to work, play and interact. A lot of Metaverse projects are currently underway and as the adoption continues to grow, it will create a bigger demand for Metaverse tokens.
