The Metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, and the future of human communication, collaboration and commerce and culture. The word »Metaverse« is made up of the prefix »meta« (meaning beyond) and the stem »verse« (a backformation from »universe«). Read more in this article by Alan Smithson. The term is typically used to describe the concept of a future iteration of the internet, made up of persistent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked into a perceived virtual universe. Simply put, the Metaverse is the internet, but you can go into it (VR) or it can come out to you (AR). There are three exponential technologies that underpin the Metaverse: XR x AI x Blockchain.
Not at all. After Web 1.0 (in which users exclusively consumed content and only a few people were able to create content) came the current Web 2.0 (in which users consume the internet and create content themselves). The soon to follow Web 3.0 is based on the blockchain. Here, data is no longer stored centrally on a few company servers, but decentralised in a network of private computers. And how is this now connected to the Metaverse? The Metaverse is part of Web 3.0 where we will enter digital worlds, meet friends as avatars at a digital concert or hold a jour fixe with colleagues at a digital beach bar. Each of these digital worlds is a Metaverse. Strictly speaking there is no such thing as »the« Metaverse.
The blockchain on which Web 3 is based enables the use of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), i.e. unique and uniquely identifiable digital assets. In the Metaverse, NFTs can take almost any shape: Artwork and music jingles are just as possible as items of clothing or equipment for an avatar. All these NFTs can be purchased in the Metaverse with cryptocurrency and therefore have a real value. Among the most famous NFTs are the first tweet of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey (sold for 2.91 million US dollars) and the Bored Apes and Mutant Apes, which were bought by stars such as Eminem, Stephen Curry or Justin Bieber.
In the Metaverse, the currency is not the Euro or the US dollar but for example Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether or USD Coin – payments are made in cryptocurrency. Each cryptocurrency is based on its own blockchain, which continuously checks and verifies all transactions with the currency. The blockchain is inherently publicly viewable and subsequent changes would be immediately visible to all. Therefore, manipulation is practically impossible and the handling of cryptocurrencies is very secure. In addition, transactions are carried out directly between users – there are no intermediary government agencies or financial institutions that can charge high processing or transaction fees. In the Metaverse, you need cryptocurrency in the form of coins (digital money) to buy tokens (digital assets).
Living next door to Snoop Dogg one day – who wouldn't want that? If you buy real estate in the Metaverse, you could fulfil this dream. Because on Sandbox, Decentraland and other Metaverse platforms you can buy properties. You can build on these plots and design them as you wish – you simply buy the corresponding materials with cryptocurrency (e.g. MANA in Decentraland and SAND in Sandbox). The value of real estate in the metaverse is determined, among other things, by the location, the nature of the terrain and, of course, supply and demand – so it's not completely different from the offline world.
A virtual or digital showroom is an exhibition space on the Internet. Our virtual showrooms can be created individually as a 3D environment and equipped with 3D models of any brand product.
