There is substantial overlap between the monetary, digital, and natural worlds. With the help of the electronics we rely on daily, we can get our hands on nearly anything we desire with a single click. Not even the crypto industry has been spared. NFTs, blockchain games, and crypto payments are no longer the exclusive domain of crypto enthusiasts. In the evolving metaverse, they have all become readily available.
Let's talk about the Metaverse
The metaverse is the idea of a fully immersive, online 3D virtual world that links its members in every facet of their existence. It would act as a bridge between many systems, just like the internet connects disparate computer networks.
The idea was first presented in Neal Stephenson's science fiction novel Snow Crash. While the concept of a metaverse may have started as science fiction, it appears that one day soon, it may become a reality.
Each user will have agency over an avatar in an augmented reality metaverse. You may do everything from managing your crypto portfolio and money to participating in a mixed-reality meeting using an Oculus VR headset in your virtual office.
Some features of the metaverse are already present in preexisting virtual video game environments. Virtual worlds (like Second Life and Fortnite) and workplace collaboration applications (like Gather) fit this category. Towns merge many aspects of our real-world existence with our virtual ones. These programs aren't precisely the metaverse, but they're close. For the time being, the metaverse does not exist.
The metaverse will include various systems, not just those related to gaming or social networks, such as digital economy, digital identities, and decentralized administration. Even now, users' ability to create and possess valuable objects and currencies contributes to the growth of a unified metaverse. Blockchain can fuel this emerging technology because of all of its qualities.
What Purpose Does Gaming Serve In The Metaverse?
Games, especially those focused on 3D virtual reality, provide the closest thing to a metaverse experience at the moment. However, the fact that they are three-dimensional is not the only relevant factor here. These days, you can get services and features in video games that can be applied to real-world situations. Roblox even features a virtual events calendar where players may attend concerts and gatherings with other players online. Gamers today use "cyberspace" for more than just playing the game. Case in point: 12.3 million Fortnite gamers checked out Travis Scott's virtual in-game music tour.
Where Does Cryptology Fall Into The Metaverse, If At All?
While video games are a great way to experience the 3D part of the metaverse, they are far from providing everything necessary for a fully realized virtual environment. Digital proof of ownership, wealth transfer, governance, and accessibility are all features that crypto may provide. But can you clarify what these terms mean?
In the future, we may do business, have social interactions, and even make purchases in the virtual world, or "metaverse." If this occurs, it will be necessary to have a safe method of establishing ownership. As an added precaution, we need to feel secure while sending these commodities and monetary units from one location in the metaverse to another. Finally, since the metaverse will be such an essential part of our lives, we'll want to have some input into the decisions being made there.
Some games have built-in rudimentary solutions, but many designers find that crypto and blockchain offer superior options. While video game creation tends to be centralized, blockchain technology allows for a decentralized and transparent approach to these issues.
Video games are a significant source of inspiration for blockchain engineers. Decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming finance (GameFi) frequently use gamification. There appears to be enough shared ground for the two cultures to merge eventually.
What Is The Metaverse Job
We've already established that the metaverse will be a hub for all life's experiences. Even while many individuals already do their jobs from home, shortly, you'll be able to visit a virtual workplace and chat with your virtual coworkers. The money you make at work could be directly put to use in the metaverse, depending on the nature of your job. There are indeed professions like this already.
Nowadays, people worldwide have reliable ways to make money, thanks to services like GameFi and play-to-earn models. Since these work-from-home opportunities demonstrate people's willingness to spend time living and working in virtual worlds, they are prime prospects for future implementation in metaverses. Many free-to-play games, including Axie Infinity and Gods Unchained, don't contain 3D environments or player characters. The idea that they might participate in the metaverse and make money from it purely online is what's important, though.
Where Will The Metaverse Go From Here?
Facebook has been an outspoken advocate for the need for a unified metaverse. The Diem stablecoin project on Facebook is very relevant for crypto-powered metaverses. Mark Zuckerberg has spoken openly about his hopes to facilitate remote labor and provide economic prospects for people in underdeveloped nations through a metaverse project. Facebook has a head start in its efforts to unify the disparate realms of media platforms, communication, and cryptocurrency since it already controls the most prominent platforms in each of these areas. Microsoft, Apple, and Google are not the only major IT firms working toward developing a metaverse.
The next logical step toward a crypto-powered metaverse is merging NFT marketplaces with 3D simulated worlds. Holders of NFTs currently have access to several marketplaces, such OpenSea, and BakerySwap, where they can sell their items sourced from various locations, but a popular 3D platform is still in development. If blockchain technology takes off, programmers might create metaverse-like apps that attract more users than any single digital behemoth.
In Conclusion
While building a unified metaverse is likely to take a long time, there are signs of progress that could one day lead to its realization. As far as I can tell, this is just another fantastical application of blockchain technology and digital money. It's unclear if we'll ever get to the stage where a metaverse is possible. Meanwhile, metaverse-like projects are already here, and blockchain is finding more and more applications in our daily lives.