Metaverse has been dominating the headlines for the last couple of days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the Facebook corporate company has changed its name to ‘Meta’. According to Zuckerberg, this rebrand is a part of the company’s major step towards helping to build the metaverse.
But what actually is the Metaverse? Think of the internet, but in 3D virtual and augmented reality. When you’re sending a video to your friends, they’ll feel like they’re right there with you at that moment, instead of just viewing through a window on their screen. When you’re playing games with your friends, it’ll feel like you’re right there together in a different world, instead of just looking at your computer screen.
Instead of looking at the screen, you’re gonna in these experiences. Whether it’s a meeting or a video call, it’ll feel like you’re in the same room together. Zuckerberg calls it embodied internet with shared and connected immersive virtual environments. All of these shared virtual experiences will be enabled by VR headsets, AR glasses, special apps, and several other devices that are being planned for development.
What else can you do in the Metaverse?
The Metaverse will include every aspect of our daily online activities. When we’re shopping online, it’ll feel like shopping right at the store. You can join parties and concerts with your friends who live miles away from you.
Michael Abrash, one of the leading VR Software programmers explains that the metaverse will include photorealistic avatars of each user. So, when you see your friend, family, or colleague in front of you in a shared virtual environment, it’ll feel like they’re actually standing, walking, or talking face-to-face. It’ll be a far more immersive experience than looking at a grid of faces on your screen.
Victoria Petrock, who is an analyst in emerging metaverse technologies describes that the metaverse will feel like a doppelganger universe. It’ll feel like you’re living your virtual life almost the same way as your physical life.
How will the Metaverse impact the crypto industry?
Experts have said that the development of the metaverse will be a huge boost for the crypto industry. During Thursday’s rebrand announcement, Zuckerberg has also said that Facebook’s Meta will support NFTs, which will give a massive boost to the Ethereum protocol.
The head of Facebook’s meta products Visah Shah has indicated that the company’s future platforms will make it easy for users to display NFTs in digital spaces and resell them securely.
Since last year, the rapid rise of NFT has massively contributed to the growth of the overall crypto industry. People who have a passion for collecting unique art pieces are coming into the crypto industry, which is continuously increasing the trade volumes and the overall market cap of the industry. Allowing NFTs to be merged into metaverse platforms will surely boost the industry much further in the future.
When the Metaverse takes its full force, there will be a surge in the demand for high-speed financial services and exchanges. Arthur Madrid, CEO of the Sandbox has explained that cryptocurrency will be the central financial solution in this new augmented reality.
Companies like The Sandbox and Decentraland has already developed 3D virtual worlds integrated with cryptocurrencies. This allows gamers to create in-game virtual structures like amusement parks and virtual casinos, and monetize them. Decentraland used MANA token as the currency for their in-game interactions and transactions. Gamers can gamble and pay other players in MANA, which they can exchange and trade in crypto exchanges. MANA is available on popular crypto exchanges like Coinbase.
Development of the metaverse will surely see more projects like Decentraland arriving into the industry. This will increase crypto transactions and even pave the way for new coins.
So, metaverse will not just revolutionize social media, it’ll also give a huge boost to the cryptocurrency industry in the future. Perhaps, the metaverse will make the digital crypto-economy more sustainable and reliable.
