Metaverse is a concept of a virtual and 3D online space that connects users and multiple platforms. The metaverse is the same as the internet containing numerous websites accessible through a single browser.
The Story Behind the Name
The term, Metaverse, was coined by the science-fiction novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson in 1992. This novel explores the online world through digital avatars to escape a dystopian reality.
But what once seemed fiction now looks like it could be our future.
The metaverse will allow each user to control an avatar or a character-driven by augmented reality. For instance, users may conduct mixed reality meetings with their Oculus VR headsets in their virtual workplaces. Imagine finishing work and relaxing in a blockchain-based game. Thanks to the metaverse, how fun it would be to finish work and relax in a blockchain-based game and manage your finances and crypto portfolio.
We are already witnessing some aspects of the metaverse prevalent in virtual video game worlds. Popular games, including Fortnite and Second Life and work socialization tools like Gather.town, are integrating numerous elements of our lives into online worlds. However, these applications are not the metaverse because the metaverse doesn’t exist yet.
Apart from supporting social media or gaming, the metaverse is likely to combine digital identity, decentralized governance, economies, and other applications.
What is the Connection between Video Games and Metaverse?
Today’s video games revolve around 3D virtual reality. That’s why they offer users the closest metaverse experience. However, it’s not because of their 3D nature alone. Popular video games provide features and services that cross over into various aspects of our lives.
For example, a popular video game, Roblox, hosts numerous virtual events. These events include meetups and concerts. In another multiplayer game, Fortnite, more than 12 million players participated in the virtual in-game music tour by Travis Scott.
Hence, players are not just playing the game anymore. Instead, they are using it for celebrating and participating in different events in ‘cyberspace.’
How Does Crypto Connect with Metaverse?
Although gaming offers the 3D aspect of the metaverse, it fails to cover everything needed in a virtual world for covering all facets of life. Crypto can provide the other vital parts, such as transfer of value, digital proof of ownership, accessibility, and governance.
If you are confused about what it all means, we’ll explain it further.
The future will likely allow people to socialize, work, and even buy virtual items in the metaverse. How will we perform these transactions? We will need a secure way of proving our ownership and a safe way to transfer money and these items around the metaverse.
While some of today’s most popular video games already contain essential solutions, many developers use blockchain and crypto as more reliable options. In addition, while video-game development is more centralized, blockchain provides a transparent and decentralized dealing method.
It is also common for blockchain developers to take inspiration from video games. For example, gamification is common in GameFi and DeFi (Decentralized Finance). As a result, there will be more similarities between these two different worlds in the future.
Here are some of the critical aspects of blockchain suited to the metaverse.
Ownership
You can instantly prove ownership of an asset or activity on the blockchain by owning a wallet with access to your private keys. For instance, you can show accountability at work by owning an exact transcript of your transactions on the blockchain. Without a doubt, a wallet is one of the most robust and secure ways to establish proof of ownership or digital identity.
Digital Collectability
We can prove that an item is unique and original, just as we establish that we own something. That’s important for a metaverse looking to integrate more real-life activities. We can create 100% unique objects through NFTs, which nobody can forge or copy. A blockchain also represents ownership of physical items.
Transfer of Value
There will be a need to guarantee a secure transfer of value that all users trust. In multiplayer games, in-game currencies are not as secure as crypto on a blockchain. Users will need a reliable currency to perform transactions in metaverse since they will spend large amounts of time there.
Accessibility
An individual can create a wallet on public blockchains. Users don’t have to provide any details or pay any funds for opening a wallet, unlike a bank account. That makes it one of the easiest and most convenient ways to manage digital identity and finances.
Governance
For online users, the ability to regulate the rules of their interaction with the metaverse is also critical. Just as we have voting rights to elect governments and leaders in companies, the metaverse will also require ways to implement fair governance. Blockchain is already a recognized example of this.
Interoperability
We know that Blockchain technology is constantly enhancing compatibility between various platforms. Projects such as Avalanche (AVAX) and Polkadot (DOT) help create custom blockchains that interact with each other. The metaverse will have to connect multiple projects, and blockchain technology already offers solutions for this problem.
Why Does the Metaverse Involve Holograms?
The internet arrived with a series of technological innovations. For example, technology allows computers to talk to each other over great distances. Many features such as these proved to be the building blocks to develop the abstract structures of the internet: social networks, websites, apps, and all other apps that relied on these fundamental elements.
The internet also resulted in the convergence of the various interface innovations that are not exactly a part of the internet. However, they are still essential to make it work. These parts include keyboards, touchscreens, displays, etc.
The metaverse promises to launch some new building blocks. For example, the ideal metaverse will be capable of hosting thousands or even millions of people at once. In addition, motion-tracking tools can identify where a person is looking. All these innovative technologies seem very futuristic and exciting.
But certain limitations may be impossible to overcome. For example, when tech companies like Microsoft or Meta create fictionalized videos of their future versions, they usually gloss over how users interact with the metaverse. In addition, most people have trouble wearing VR headsets for long because they experience physical pain or motion sickness.
The same is the case with augmented reality glasses. People are still figuring out how to wear these glasses in public without any apprehension.
Tech companies will have to find a way to make their dorky glasses and bulky headsets look ‘cool.’
It seems that the only solution will be fabricating technology from whole cloth. Have you seen the holographic woman in Meta's presentation? We don’t want to disappoint you, but something like this is not reasonably possible, even with advanced versions of current technology.
The truth is that there is no way to create a three-dimensional picture that appears in midair. But unfortunately, this type of glossing over reality is common in video demos to glimpse what the metaverse would be.
Another demo from Meta depicted characters floating in space. The demo raises quite a few questions. For example, are the characters sitting at a desk or strapped to an immersive aerial rig? We also see a person represented by a hologram. Then a person grabs virtual objects but also holds these in what appears to be their physical hands.
While we don’t mind these tech giants making larger-than-life videos to give an artistic impression of the future, most fail to answer important questions. For example, if AR and VR headsets become affordable and comfortable, then the idea of your friends playing a virtual game of poker, as holograms and robots may be possible. But these accessories don’t become everyday tech gadgets. You and your friends can always play on a Discord video call or Tabletop Simulator.
What’s So Great about Metaverse?
One of the best things about the metaverse is that it will allow people to experience a virtual world with no limits. In metaverse, people will do things they can only dream of by using avatars.
Here is an example. You can relax in your favorite spot in nature. However, that natural spot will be virtual. The experience will be just like using the internet on a new level: fully immersive and 3D.
A more basic version of the metaverse is present in a popular browser-based game, Decentraland. You can run it on Firefox or Chrome on Mac or PC to choose an avatar, participate in concerts, play games, create NFT wearables, etc.
Tech experts predict some pros of the metaverse. Here are some of the advantages we are likely to witness.
- More immersive digital communication
- Upgraded social media platforms
- Improved testing and simulation for new products
- Virtual economy
- Sustainability with blockchain
- Notable learning and education apps
The Dark Side of Metaverse
Most of us also fear the inevitable separation between people and reality. We will probably get addicted to the metaverse, and our children and future generations will have to bear the consequences.
Here are a few cons that technology gurus predict about metaverse.
- May obliterate human relationships and society
- Privacy issues
- Addiction and depression
- Confusion between the real and virtual world
For sure, the metaverse will be the next big thing, the same way computers were in the 1980s, and the internet was in the 1990s. If this era belongs to smartphones and cryptocurrencies, the future will belong to the metaverse.
The impact of metaverse depends a lot on how we use it. The key is to focus on the positive aspects of the metaverse and use it for our good.
Metaverse: The Present
Online users gaming enthusiasts are already familiar with digital concerts, virtual events, and video calls with other users from all corners of the globe. Online avatars are also popular among users. So, Sthere must be an innovative element that sells these things as a new vision of the world.
Anyone passionate about metaverse will inevitably reference fictional accounts of the concept like Snow Crash or Ready Player One. The latter portrays a VR world where everyone plays, works, and trades.
Combine it with the pop-culture idea of heads-up displays and holograms, and these fictional stories become a creative reference point for what the metaverse will be all about.
Metaverse: The Future
One of the biggest platforms working to create a unified metaverse is Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg has specifically mentioned his plans to lead a metaverse project for supporting remote work and improving financial opportunities for people living in developing countries. The tech giant’s ownership of crypto platforms, social media, and communication gives it an excellent start to combine all these worlds into one. Other big names in the tech world, including Google, Apple, and Microsoft, are also working towards creating a metaverse.
Further collaboration between 3D virtual universes and NFT marketplaces will likely be the next step in a crypto-powered metaverse. We have already witnessed NFT holders selling their goods on marketplaces like BakerySwap and OpenSea. However, there is no popular 3D platform for this yet. In the future, blockchain developers may develop other metaverse-like applications with more organic users.
The advantages of metaverse will shape digital infrastructures to serve as platforms to deploy apps that transform how people interact and communicate via the internet. On the contrary, groups and individuals are worried about the limitations and disadvantages of requiring tech professionals to develop reliable and safe access to the internet.
Bottom Line
Although a united and single metaverse is a long way off, we continue to explore the developments that will help its creation. It will be a case for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Whether we will ever witness the launch of the metaverse is unsure but what we do is that the future will be something like it. In the meantime, we will continue to integrate blockchain into our daily lives and experience metaverse-like projects.
About The Author
Amber Alvi
Amber is a seasoned content marketer who is enthusiastic about technology, web design, mobile apps, and everything digital. With over 15 years of experience in the content creation business, Amber loves exploring ideas from different niches, especially technology and online marketing.
