The Metaverse and the Future of Blockchain
Image by Achin bm from Pixabay
October 28th, 2021 Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be rebranding under the umbrella name “Meta.” The ramifications of this rang loudly around the world, from media to finance, as Zuckerberg explained that the prime focus of Meta would be on developing the “Metaverse,” a virtual world–potentially a connection of virtual worlds with the ability to interact with each other.
Financial Firsts of the Metaverse
To those in the worlds of crypto and gaming, VR and even the Metaverse are not new concepts. News of outrageous opportunities for financial gains through play-to-earn platforms like Axie Infinity had been making headlines as lives have been changed for the better. Especially in countries like the Philippines, where the effects of CV-19 lockdowns and the loss of jobs have taken an especially tough toll, the play-to-earn (P2E) model has been a lifesaver for many. There, players have been able to generate incomes of $500 monthly, where the average earnings fell somewhere close to $200 pre-lockdowns. Financial phenomenons like this brought AR (augmented reality) and VR, along with the vast potential for gaming in the Metaverse, to a new level of practical interest globally.
Players of games like Axie are not the only financial winners, in any case. Companies have since sprung up to serve promising players who may not be able to afford avatars and other accessories for battle by offering loans and scholarships. This has created a lucrative secondary market.
And the possibilities go on: prizes, skins, events, gifts and more, are available as NFTs in metaverses. Again, these were available pre-Facebook announcements, but the Meta rebranding and new direction announced by Zuckerberg brings the movement to the next level through what those in advertising lovingly refer to as the “network effect.”
Meta Means Beyond
The prefix “meta” means going deeper or above, moving beyond. This is essentially what Zuckerberg’s announcement will do for the current world of VR, AR, and gaming–and blockchain-related projects worldwide. By virtue of over 2 billion users Facebook now boasts, it will introduce concepts previously unknown to such a population as broadly as possible. It will take video gaming and concepts of virtual reality to new levels of acceptance and understanding and the unique terminology and jargon that goes along with that world.
Looking beyond gaming will be what powers these games; beyond the distraction and diversion, there will be the massive potential for monetization. And no established company will be ignoring this. New startups and individuals will also capitalize on this, as Axie Infinity players in the Philippines have already demonstrated.
Into the Future through Integration
New technologies and innovation tend to travel together in the way that like-minded people often find themselves in the same rooms, sharing complementary ideas and building upon those together to create innovations undreamed. Through these blossoming technologies and the exchange of ideas, hybrid solutions to problems are developed, iterated, and in time perfected. The evolution of one technology often enables another, creating a domino effect of progress.
Technologies enabled by edge computing, exponentially higher data storage, and 5G technology (which will enable exponentially higher data transmission speeds) will all be crucial to the optimal user experience Metaverses require. However, this cannot be overlooked, as a bad user experience may easily disenchant an entire demographic toward a new world of expression, connection, and financial gains. In addition, complementary technologies enabling more accurate and even life-like experiences, including comfortable headwear, gloves, and other body sensory devices, will take the Metaverse experience to new and genuinely viable acceptance levels for users worldwide.
New Worlds for Crypto and Blockchain
Not yet discussed in Facebook’s idea for its Metaverse, yet of great interest to those already familiar with the space, is the need for decentralization. The desire for privacy, avoidance of a single point of failure–reducing vulnerability for hacks, and verifiability of data are all well-known and unique properties of the distributed ledger system we know as blockchain technology.
With Facebook’s history of its failed stablecoin cryptocurrency “Libra,” questioned and finally condemned into non-existence by government authorities worldwide, the future of its new rebranded stablecoin “Diem” is still uncertain. However, the utility of an acceptable means of exchange within a Metaverse is undisputed. People in a metaverse want to buy and sell things, not just trade them.
Those wishing to immerse themselves in these new fantastic worlds effectively will want to exchange ideas, experiences, and goods and services. Real-world services with locations requiring physical travel may soon create their own virtual locations in VR for easier access for their customers. Soon clothing stores, furniture stores, banks, museums, and more will have their corresponding virtual presence in the Metaverse, complete with virtual customer service that may be more efficient than what we experience in the real world.
Beyond art galleries with limited editions and one-of-a-kind artwork, collectors’ items such as sports items and souvenirs, real estate in the form of lots, homes, islands, and even nation-states will be for sale. Anything in the actual world will be fair game for representation, creation, and monetization in the virtual world. Premium goods and services will command premium costs.
New Worlds, New Opportunities
These new and exciting worlds called metaverses will not only require all of the essential and luxury items we know in the real world–save for the food we eat and the air we breathe; they will open the doors to the imaginations of us all.
Beyond classical, jazz, EDM, hip-hop, and rock concerts by today’s most beloved artists, new artists, virtual and possibly collaboratively hybrid, will spring forth to satisfy the tastes of new genres in music. And through blockchain-enabled structure and distribution, a fair and equal percentage rate for royalties to artists may be implemented. Methods of smart-contract enabled artist/performer agreements are already being developed worldwide. This technology will be applied to dynamic NFTs.
New forms of visual art, perhaps a hybrid of static and “living,” will evolve. Democratization of art is already occurring as young artists enjoy popularity and sell their work for millions of dollars.
Through NFTs, a more fair and equitable method of artist remuneration will ensue. In this case, the need for a middleman, more commonly a gallery, which customarily takes 50% of sales profits, will be reduced and even eliminated in some cases. Today we have OpenSea and Rarible as NFT artists’ marketplaces. Still, through savvy entrepreneurs in a metaverse, we may soon see more purely peer-to-peer exchanges between artists and their patrons.
A new generation of TV and movie makers await their turn at creating new experiences with evolving levels of immersion and interaction. What course the plot of a future film takes, what twists and turns it makes, maybe more of an individual’s preference than a collective experience. The last installment, “Bandersnatch,” of the British Netflix series “Black Mirror,” explored this. The fresh experiences of new levels of sensory immersion offered in a metaverse will not simply enhance these entertainment experiences; it will take them to an entirely new level.
With these new levels of creativity come new price points. Emerging blockchain companies and projects will not overlook the profit potential. The sky will not even be the limit for these entrepreneurs, as new worlds are created. The only limitation will be our imaginations. Follow along with us at EQIFI as we build these new worlds together.
