Crypto, Metaverse and Innovation, ... Oh My!

by Jurica Dujmovic
By Jurica Dujmovic

One of my favorite innovations in technology, besides cryptocurrencies, is virtual reality.

I've been using VR since the first Oculus Rift came out, and now I'm eyeing Oculus Quest 3, which is due to launch this year. Exploring and creating virtual worlds is something I'm deeply passionate about — whether it's playing VR games like No Man's Sky VR, meeting new and amazing people in VR Chat or creating 3D art in virtual environments using Adobe's Medium.

The problem with VR is that all these separate experiences live in separate apps, with no way to seamlessly connect them. Exploring new worlds to chatting with friends to creating new projects in VR should all be possible in one virtual environment without needing to manually start separate apps for each experience.

At its core, this is the concept behind the metaverse — a virtual universe or a collective virtual shared space that is accessible through the internet. It's considered by many to be the next phase of the internet, where users can experience a more immersive and interactive online world.

The concept of the metaverse was first introduced in the novel "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson, published in 1992. Since then, the idea has expanded and evolved, and many tech companies and startups are now working to create their own versions of the metaverse.

One popular vision of metaverse brought to life is the popular "Ready Player One". This franchise started with the eponymous book by Ernest Cline in 2011. It was later adapted into a movie and then got a contentious sequel novel in 2020.

The "Ready Player One" franchise highlights the idea of a virtual world where people can escape from their problems and live out their dreams, but also raises questions about the consequences of spending too much time in a virtual world and the importance of real-world connections and experiences.

Since its inception, VR has captured the minds and fantasies of enthusiasts and prosumers like me, as well as the average user. As of 2023, there are 65.9 million VR users, which is 15% of the U.S. population.

This number will most likely keep growing, especially with big players like Meta Platforms (META) stepping up the game and learning how to keep users' attention.

Meta has been investing heavily in virtual reality and augmented reality technologies through its Oculus brand. It has also acquired several other companies working in the metaverse space to create VR workspaces and VR social platforms.

However, Meta has faced criticism and skepticism about its ambitions to become the king of the metaverse. Critics point out that the company has a history of privacy and data issues, and some are concerned about the potential implications of a single company controlling a virtual world that people rely on for socialization and commerce. There have also been concerns whether the metaverse will be accessible to everyone ... regardless of socioeconomic status.

These problems become much smaller through decentralization. So, although my next headset will be a Meta product, I have little to no interest in staying within its ecosystem.

Instead, I will gladly jailbreak my device and explore virtual experiences on my own terms.

For users like me, being able to leave the walled garden is a must, and this is the precise moment where crypto steps in and clears the mess of the tech giants ... just like it continually does in the world of finance.

Currently, there are quite a few metaverse crypto projects out there, but my favorite ones are those with VR capabilities: Decentraland (MANA, Tech/Adoption Grade "B-"), The Sandbox (SAND, Tech/Adoption Grade "C+"), Sensorium Galaxy and Voxels, formerly Cryptovoxels. These projects are a testament that crypto does metaverse better than "king of metaverse", Meta.

That's because crypto brings blockchain technology and native cryptocurrencies to metaverse platforms. These provide users with a decentralized, community-driven virtual experience with transparent and secure transactions.

This creates an environment where users can participate in a truly peer-to-peer virtual economy, with greater freedom and autonomy due to the lack of a single controlling entity.

And crypto platforms benefit from the arraignment, too. The integration of VR technology allows for a more immersive and engaging online experience, where users can interact with each other and with virtual objects in a more natural and intuitive way. This can lead to the creation of more authentic and meaningful virtual experiences, drawing in new users and keeping established users engaged.

For an example, look no further than the recent Weiss Crypto Daily issue written by our managing editor, Beth about the second annual Metaverse Fashion Week.

This highly anticipated event is a testament to how crypto metaverse platforms offer a new and exciting way to create and participate in virtual experiences, with greater control, creativity and opportunities for monetization than the run-of-the-mill centralized variant.

As the metaverse continues to evolve, it will be fascinating to see how VR, crypto and other emerging technologies shape the virtual world of the future.

What about you? Are you using any of these metaverse platforms? What's your favorite one? Let me know by tweeting @WeissCrypto!

Best,

Jurica

About the Contributor

Jurica Dujmović has been a creator, collector and investor in digital art, including the rapidly evolving non-fungible tokens (NFT) space since its inception nearly a decade ago. He’s also passionate about digital currencies and writes about crypto trends, including what’s new in the Weiss Crypto Ratings, in Weiss Crypto Daily. 

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