Where Crypto meets the Meta Verse
This article explores the possibilities of Crypto in the metaverse by detailing the meaning, components and characteristics of a metaverse.
Before we describe the juxtaposition of Crypto and the Metaverse, let’s understand what actually is Metaverse?
What does a Metaverse look like
Meta verse, in its simplest form, is the virtual world where everything one can imagine – exists. It is a digital space through which everyone can stay connected such that our senses of vision, sound, and touch blend into the virtual world in a manner that the physical being collides or overlaps or immerses into the digital world. Examples can be 3D, eXtended Reality and VR technologies.
IT experts and video gaming enthusiasts predict that one day the Metaverse will generate a massive economy such that the global economy will be dominated by it. The term “metaverse” was first coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 book “Snowcrash”, where he had imagined a virtual reality world in which real-life individuals interact with each other in an internet-like space through their digital forms called “avatars.”
Components of the metaverse
As discussed above, the metaverse is the amalgamation of the physical and digital worlds. While the metaverse in its full-blown evolution can take several proportions and forms, some of its basic foundations are the following:
- Internet – A decentralized networking system where computers are not owned by a central or single authority and one that is not regulated by a single entity for its daily functioning
- Standardized open programming languages – An environment where programming languages including HTML, JavaScript, WebAssembly, etc. are standardized for utility in images, video and text
- Standardized Media – A space where text, audio, images and video can be generated through a combination of open programming languages for creating 3D scenes, vectors, sequences, and geometry
- eXtended Reality (XR) hardware – Hardware like haptics, smart glasses, and omni treadmills can be used to visualize the metaverse
- Decentralized ledgers – A world where transparent, censorship-resistant and decentralized transactions can take place through blockchain technology.
Characteristics of the Metaverse
Technologists believe that Crypto can prove to be the best feature for metaverse to thrive, one where smart contract platforms can support an overall ownership of the global economy. Crypto to merge into the metaverse has generated major corporate interest in the past few years.
Experts project that NFTs or non-fungible tokens will play a crucial role in the metaverse. Currently, digital goods only exist in siloed databases that are coded with varied formatting. With Crypto in the metaverse, there would be a uniform formatting and an ability to interact with the physical world. NFTs will enable a universalized, decentralized and digital ownership. This will result in an economic ecosystem where shared protocols are widely recognized, instead of diversified currency systems. Metaverse is actually a fusion of all five components mentioned above, but Crypto is its foundational stone. Cryptocurrencies and NFTs will enhance the flourishing of those multiple components. These two will bring about digital property rights, superb coordination across virtual environments, and robust privacy-focused systems that are hard to exploit. Cryptocurrencies, especially, are required to boost an efficient decentralized economic system that supports the entire concept of the metaverse.
Crypto meeting the metaverse will be a culmination of some of these elements:
- Video gaming, Crypto Media, Art and Collectibles
- Creator economy synergies
- Monetization of content in maximum new ways
- Virtual marketplace for trading crypto gaming, crypto media and so on
- Major IP and Internet holders integrating these technologies
While it is debated that the metaverse will collapse if the Crypto fails and that it might be a wrong idea to see so much potential in it as of now, corporations are ready to invest in crypto gaming, eXtended Reality and VR technologies, thus showing that a digital renaissance is not far away. We might actually be within a grand era that will emerge into a Metaverse where billions of minds are connected, where virtual existence will mark the beginning of a networked species.
