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What is the metaverse?
The metaverse has thepotential to create parallel systems of existence that will revolutionise howwe live, and how we communicate with people around the world. It’s goingto take a few years for the metaverse to really deliver on its potential. Butthat potential is huge.
And since Mark Zuckerbergannounced on October 28 that Facebook’s rename to Meta, interest in the conceptof a virtual world has soared. Now, Disney and Microsoft have also announcedmetaverse plans. This means exciting new opportunities for investors. WallStreet firm Morgan Stanley believes the metaverse to be an $8 trillion marketthat could replace today’s internet.
What is the metaverse?
The metaverse is a virtualuniverse where users can interact with one another as digital avatars. Itconsists of different shared online spaces that can be used for communication,games, and even work. While it remains largely conceptual, thepossibilities are endless, offering huge potential to revolutionise ourcommunication and lifestyles.
How to invest in the metaverse
There are loads of differentways that you can get involved. Here are a few:
Buy stocks
Meta: The most obvious stock option if you’re interestedin investing in the metaverse is Meta (formerly Facebook). The firmis investing billions of dollars into the development of the metaverse.
Nvidia: American technology company, Nvidia could offer thefoundation for the metaverse through its Omniverse platform, an open-sourcetool that allows users to build virtual worlds.
Buy crypto tokens
Metaverse gaming tokens likeAXS, SAND, and MANA are available to buy on top cryptocurrency exchanges likeFTX.
AXS: AXS is the Ethereum token that powers AxieInfinity, a blockchain-based game. AXS token holders can claim rewards forplaying the game, participating in governance votes, and staking their tokens.The reason why we used axie infinity as this was the first play to earn gamethat really blew up, there are many others but this was for an example.
SAND: SAND is the native crypto token of metaverse platform,The Sandbox.
MANA: MANA is an Ethereum token that powers Decentraland,the virtual reality platform. Players can use MANA to purchase virtual plots ofland in Decentraland.
Buy NFTs
One of the most popular waysto invest in the Metaverse is by buying NFTs (non-fungible tokens) Crypto-basedmetaverse platforms like The Sandbox and Decentraland use NFTs to denoteownership of digital assets like wearables, virtual land, and artefacts tousers. In The Sandbox, NFTs include content from popular brands likeSmurfs, Care Bears, and Atari. Sandbox users can also mint their own NFTs,monetise them, and share their creations with others.
Buy land
Like in the real world,investing and growing your metaverse property portfolio allows you to make realmoney. That’s why some are investing millions in virtual parcels ofland. Owners can use their land to generate passive income in a host ofcreative ways like selling space for advertising, charging rent, hosting andevents. And, as they own the land, they get to keep 100% of the profits.
The sandbox
Yat Siu, co-founderof Animoca. Animoca Brands, a Hong-Kong based blockchain game developerand the creator of The Sandbox, achieved a valuation of $2.2 billion in October2021. This came after the developer pulled in fresh capital from investorsincluding Ubisoft Entertainment. The company made its name with play-to-earnblockchain games that allow players to collect and trade NFTs.
Animoca’s valuationserves to highlight the surging popularity of NFTs. In the third quarter, thetrading volume for NFTs rose to $10.7 billion, an increase of 704% on the lastquarter!
“With the backing ofour new strategic investors, Animoca Brands will continue to advance blockchainin gaming—and beyond—to introduce billions of gamers and internet users to truedigital ownership.” – Yat Siu.
Built on theEthereum blockchain, Sandbox is one of Animoca’s most popular games. Playerscan create and monetise their gaming experiences using NFTs and the SAND token(the platform’s native currency). The game features three main components: theVoxedit 3D art animation software for building NFT game assets, the Marketplacefor buying and selling NFT assets, and the Game Maker tool for creating in-gameexperiences.
$SAND is the tokenthat enables transactions within The Sandbox. This Ethereum cryptocurrencyallows users to access the game, buy and sell in-game assets, partake ingovernance, earn a passive income through staking and liquidity, and muchmore.
Play-to-Earn is akey component of The Sandbox metaverse, offering completely new andrevolutionary functionality for NFTs. Players can not only enjoy interactingwith the virtual world but they can also get rewarded through it. Here arejust a few ways players can earn in The Sandbox:
Players can create agame asset, such as a dragon, turn it into a non-fungible token (NFT) and sellit on the marketplace! The marketplace allows millions of players tocreate, buy and sell digital assets. And, as assets are published to theEthereum blockchain, players get proof of ownership and fullmonetisation.
Create & sellgames
Players can alsocreate 3D games for free, with no coding knowledge required! Players can thenmonetise their games and sell them on Sandbox’s NFT marketplace!
Rent or sell land
Like in Decentraland,players can also buy digital pieces of land. A total of 166,464 LANDS will everbe available. LAND is a finite commodity that is available at the lowest pricefor early players. Over time, the sale time will increase, and players canchoose to sell their LAND at a profit.
Sandbox landownerscan earn income by charging other players (in SAND) to visit their LAND, playtheir games, go to an event they’re hosting, or even rent their land. Playerscan even sell their LAND at a profit after customising it.
Complete quests& earn tokens
Players can evenearn SAND tokens or other NFTs by completing quests in one or many of thegaming experiences inside The Sandbox. And, since you then own the SAND ofNFTs, you can then choose to keep them or sell them to other players.
Decentraland
Decentraland is avirtual reality platform on the Ethereum network. Players can purchase virtualland and build on it to create and monetize applications and content. Butwhy are people buying virtual land for millions on the NFT marketplace? Andwhat makes virtual land so valuable?
Let’s first take alook at how Decentraland works. Its economy is built on the Ethereumblockchain. Non-fungible tokens, called MANA, act as the game’scurrency. There are 43,000 equally-sized pieces of land that are owned andtraded by players around the world. All of which have already been purchased.(Good luck trying to get one!) However, players can now only buy land on thesecondary market.
The land ispermanently owned by users, giving them complete control over their creations.Users’ ownership of their virtual land is recorded on a blockchain ledger ofparcels. Every block of land is represented by an NFT token that acts like akey to a real house and enables the seamless and instant transfer of virtual landbetween users worldwide.
There are evenwebsites like Rentable that act as leasing agents for virtual real estate onDecentraland. All you have to do is browse the site and select a rental withinyour monthly budget. There’s a security deposit like in the real world, andonce you’ve paid your rent, the land is yours to do whatever you want withit.
Like in the realworld, investing and growing your property portfolio allows you to make actualmoney in the metaverse. Some are investing millions of dollars for virtualparcels of land. Crazy, right?
Landowners controlwhat content and applications exist on their land, ranging from 3D scenes,games and other applications. They can use their land to generate passiveincome in a host of creative ways. And, as the user owns the land, they get tokeep 100% of the profits.
Users can generaterevenue by:
· Selling space orbillboards for advertising and make passive income every time someone buys adspace
· Charging rent fortheir land
· Building a virtualmuseum and charging admission
· Hosting a virtualevent like a club night, digital art festival, casino night, or a party
· Deploying a publicgame or application
· Creating an NFTgallery and keeping a percentage of the sale profits
· Selling merchandisein a virtual store
You can do whateveryou like- there’s really no end to the possibilities in Decentraland.
How can users besure that the video game creators won’t just create more land or reduce thevalue of land? Well, Decentraland is the first platform of its kind. Thereis no central entity that controls the fate of the game. This means that usershave complete control over how the game changes and grows in the future. The gamedevelopers don’t have the power.
So, any changeswithin the platform can only happen through a community vote. Voting power isdetermined based on how much land or MANA you own. No more land will everbe created unless the majority of the community votes. But this is highlyunlikely considering that users are likely to act in their own interest, andcreating more land would reduce the value of their own land.
