So, what is a Metaverse?
Well, since this is a very young concept, it’s hard to define it. Some experts say that Metaverse is any virtual space where you can perform any actions and interact with other virtual avatars. Others are saying that the general characteristic of all Metaverses is the users’ ability to personally associate themselves with their avatars. However, according to the most popular definitions, a Metaverse is somewhat of a “virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.”
We think that the best example of a (very advanced and futuristic) Metaverse would be “Ready Player One”.
But when will we be able to live our second lives fully? Spoiler alert: not soon. Current Metaverses are at the very beginning of their evolution. Let’s take a look at the most popular examples.
Firstly, we have Decentraland. Decentraland is a 3D virtual world hosted on the Ethereum blockchain. Although it was initially launched in 2020, Decentraland has become popular inside the crypto community over the last year. Within this virtual world, players can create avatars and purchase plots of land, which they can use to produce rich in-world content. Its market capitalization is around $4 billion.
Much like Decentraland, The Sandbox is an Ethereum-based virtual world where players can explore, purchase virtual land, and interact with other gamers. In-game items, such as clothes and land, are structured as NFTs and can be traded in ‘The Sandbox Shop’ — the platform’s NFT marketplace. Its current capitalization is over $3 billion.
We can go on and on, but the concept remains pretty much the same: buy something, use it to personalize yourself or your property, then cherish it for the rest of your life — or flip it for profit.
There have been stellar profits in the Metaverse space already
Well, so far the most expensive Metaverse land plot ever is the “Fashion Street Estate”, Decentraland. It was sold for $2,420,000. This trend shows that people are ready to invest millions of dollars into the Metaverses — and their bullishness is understandable, with Metaverses already making millions of dollars. Just one of many examples: MOBLAND project’s TVL has exceeded $100 million.
Another great example of premium Metaverse property would be the so-called Genesis plots. Every Metaverse has an original land plot (or a couple of them) that were generated first. Since such plots are commonly located in the center of the map, their prices are very high. For example, the Genesis plots of Axie Infinity are very popular and very expensive; Genesis plot number 1 was sold for $2,330,000.
There is an additional important driver of value as the non-metaverse NFT assets are being integrated into the metaverses, erasing the boundary between both markets. Users can display their NFTs in the virtual space of their metaverse plots and buildings or use them in a number of other ways. As you flex your super-rare BAYC as your virtual avatar, both the Metaverse plots and the NFT collection usually grow in price!
Along came the corporations
Big companies like Nvidia, Goldman Sachs, Gucci, Roblox and others have already bought their hyper-expensive land plots, and are now planning their future business in the Metaverses. And, well, this topic gets very controversial very fast.
On one hand, you have huge exposure with widely recognized brands and large investments, and both factors contribute greatly to mass adoption of the new tech. Naturally, a huge plus for the Metaverses. Awesome for the early investor as your virtual land plot price skyrockets. Mass adoption also means massive investments, solid infrastructure, cool UX, etc.
On the other hand, corporate interests and monopolies have been known to take a great thing and turn it into, well, something less great.
Meta (formerly Facebook) may have the resources to turn this segment of the NFT market familiar to maybe a hundred thousand enthusiasts into a global trend with a billion users. But what if this shiny, new Meta Metaverse (sic!) comes with the same data privacy and advertising policies we’ve seen at Facebook? And chances are, it will.
Right now, there is still a very good chance that a decentralized, community-driven and -owned Metaverse project evolves and becomes mainstream before the big players make their move for the new niche.
So what about our favorite blockchain, Solana?
If you’ve read our previous articles, then you already know the key advantages of using Solana instead of Ethereum: TPS, environmental impact, cheap transaction fees, and the other 99 reasons. At the moment, there is already a lot of developing metaverse projects built on the Solana blockchain. The most outstanding ones are probably:
Solice
It’s the first cross-platform VR Metaverse built on the Solana blockchain. It will be similar to Decentraland and The Sandbox, allowing players to explore a 3D Metaverse and purchase lands. Solice has raised over $4.3 million in funding from leading venture capital firms in recent news.
Good Games Guild
It describes itself as a Gaming Hub that aims to create the largest Metaverse economy by optimizing its assets for maximum generated rewards. Some of Good Games Guild’s key features include Play-to-Earn games, Rent-to-Earn NFTs, and Stake-to-Earn mechanics.
Star Atlas
A blockchain-based strategy game of space exploration. It features a space-themed universe allowing users to build and upgrade spaceships and explore the Metaverse. “Players can build their fortunes in their own homes in space, explore and conquer various planets and stars, and join the Star Atlas intergalactic ecosystem.”
The Solana metaverse ecosystem is expanding as you’re reading this, and through its ever-growing collaborations with other Solana DeFi projects (check out our last article here https://jpoolsolana.medium.com/solana-defi-95105fe67c72) it could very well become the next crypto breakthrough.
There is no plausible way to segue to our own NFT-based P2E project here, Heart & SOL, as it has absolutely nothing to do with Metaverses so far, but I’ll just mention it anyway because it’s cool and it’s ours and sue me.
The future of Metaverses
The development of VR and AR technologies, lifelike graphics, and market expansion will definitely boost the popularity of metaverses. Many of us have been living online more than offline, enjoying the luxury of talking to distant friends and business partners every day like they lived or worked next door, and the virtual reality of metaverses looks like a logical next step, bringing the experience to a whole new level — not to mention the endless gaming opportunities, because let’s face it: who doesn’t want to become their favorite fantasy hero just for one day and explore endless fictional worlds?
Well, the future is here. See you in the Metaverse!
P.S. Oh, and while we’re still here, why not type in @JPoolSolana with your physical fingers and find our Twitter page?
