The Metaverse has become a hot topic over the past few months. Most people didn’t pay much attention when Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, announced that the company is changing its name to “Meta” because they didn’t realize what he was referring to.
However, a number of controversies and specific events triggered a discussion that isn’t ending anytime soon. The drastic growth of metaverse coins is one of the major reasons why everyone is talking about the metaverse.
Similarly, some intellectuals made some controversial statements about Meta claiming that Mark’s company is trying to take control of the metaverse. In today’s article, we’ll be highlighting some most important points about Meta, the Metaverse, and Metaverse coins.
What is the Metaverse?
Some people believe that “Metaverse” is a new term introduced by Facebook but that’s not entirely true. The term Metaverse was actually coined by Neal Stephenson, a famous author, in his science fiction novel “Snow Crash” in 1992. And he chose this term pretty wisely because the term itself describes this entire concept.
The Metaverse is a combination of 3D holographic avatars, virtual reality, augmented reality, and other means of communication. It’s worth noting that a number of small metaverses already exist in the digital world where people meet each other, play games, and enjoy other activities.
Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft are some of the most common examples of small metaverses where our next generation is building a completely different universe of its own. It’s also important to understand that metaverse isn’t just about gaming but it can be anything one can expect to do in the virtual world.
What is Meta?
Meta is the new name of a tech giant formerly known as Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, announced in August 2021 that they’re working on establishing a metaverse where people will be able to connect with each other virtually.
He also clarified that the metaverse is the next chapter of the Internet where people will work, travel, and enjoy entertainment.
The company received backlash after this announcement because some tech experts believe that Facebook is trying to take control of metaverse so they may dictate terms for everyone.
Vishal Shah, the Vice President of Meta countered this argument saying that his company is just providing a platform where anyone can build anything they want. He also said that it’s the next version of the Internet so, nobody can claim its ownership.
But he went on to say that Meta is designed to provide the backbone for the metaverse. It’s one of the reasons why some tech experts aren’t happy with this new development.
Regular users of metaverse are also seriously concerned about this because they think that the future of our next generation shouldn’t be controlled by a company that puts profits over people.
However, Meta isn’t paying much attention to such statements and they’re swiftly moving towards establishing a metaverse where everyone can play a role. The company is planning to hire almost 10,000 people over the next five years to make this project a success. And they’ve also announced that they’re going to spend around $10 billion on the project this year.
The main purpose of making such a large investment is to stay on top of the next big technology trend to increase their user base.
Are there any other examples of metaverses?
As we’ve mentioned, The Meta isn’t the only company working on enhancing the metaverse but there are many other companies that are applying this technology. For instance, Microsoft is creating a bridge between the real world and virtual/augmented reality using its Microsoft Mesh platform.
The company has developed several mixed and extended reality applications. They’re also planning to bring virtual avatars and holograms to the Microsoft Team in 2022.
Epic Games, the company that launched Fortnite, is also a leading name in this league. The company has organized a number of virtual concerts and music debuts recently. MetaHuman Creator is a remarkable discovery because this system helps with developing photorealistic digital humans.
Roblox is another famous company dedicated to contributing to the metaverse. Brookhaven and Bloxburg are the most popular creations of this company where users can build homes and perform other activities.
Minecraft, a game with more than 140 million users, also allows users to build whatever they want in a virtual environment. This game is quite popular among kids because it’s a digital version of Legos. It’s one of the leading companies that has introduced humans to the metaverse.
There are many other companies working on this project at different scales. We can expect to see multiple metaverse projects being launched at an accelerating rate over the next 5 years.
What are Metaverse Coins?
Metaverse coins are digital currencies that are used to make transactions in metaverses. The metaverse tokens are designed like other cryptocurrencies but the distinguishing factor is that metaverse coins are targeting the virtual universe while other cryptocurrencies are trying to facilitate the users in real life.
We can say a metaverse is like a country where people can buy and sell products using native currency. The metaverse coins are the native currencies of different metaverses where users can buy/sell virtual items using those currencies. Currently, the users need to exchange their metaverse coins if they’re going to buy/sell products in a different metaverse.
It is expected that metaverse coins will show more growth in the future compared to other cryptocurrencies because tech giants are swiftly working on the expansion of metaverse. The SandBox, Mana, Axie Infinity, Star Atlas, and Enjin Coins, are some of the most popular metaverse coins that have showed massive growth.
It is believed that metaverse tokens will offer exceptional growth potential in the crypto industry over the next few years.
Conclusion
The Metaverse has become a hot topic since Facebook changed its name to Meta. The concept of the metaverse has been around for many years. Meta (formerly known as Facebook) isn’t the only participant in this industry. Many other tech giants like Microsoft, Epic Games, and Roblox are also contributing to this new trend.
Meta, the metaverse, and metaverse coins represent an important part of the future for technology businesses.