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When COVID-19 hit, people wondered if they would ever get to interact with one another ever again. The idea of being isolated at home, quarantined with little to no contact outside, was frightening. Thankfully, with the rise of platforms like Zoom and Google Meets, interacting with others transitioned to the virtual world. Being able to make video calls and speak to avatars from across the globe fascinated people and filled that void.
However, even as people started to go outside again, the idea of an online world hasn’t gone away. In fact, companies like Meta and Tesla have been looking into cyberspace. Could we live in a world where all our thoughts, actions, and choices exist online? Believe it or not, there are already building blocks in place to make this “metaverse” a reality.
Like any investment, the first step is to understand what you’d be funding. The problem is that the metaverse is rather vague and complex. To explain the entire thing could take hours, if not days. So, for the time being, let’s focus on the basic idea and how it can work in the real world.
To start with, the metaverse is essentially about the way we interact with the virtual and online world. Think of it as a universe where the digital and physical collide. For many companies, this would include virtual reality and augmented reality. They imagine that the metaverse would be like a marketplace full of goods and services, only that the people involved are digital.
For example, NFTs and cryptocurrency work differently from traditional banks and currencies. These digital coins and pictures are made online, instead of acting as a proxy for real dollars or dimes. You can use these NFTs or crypto to make trades and pay for various services, just as you would with physical money. Now, imagine that the entire marketplace, from the stores themselves to the products and items, was also virtual. That’s the kind of metaverse that people envision, a place where we can all go online and live as we would in the real world. It sounds like a crazy idea but with the rise of social media and virtual workspaces, it might not be a far-fetched dream.
Before you can invest in Metaverse, you should be aware of what it brings to the table. As with any investment, it’s not a guaranteed moneymaker. It’s all still technology currently being invented, updated, or conceptualized. In other words, its long-term value and practical use are only speculation, at least for now. Still, the idea of the metaverse holds a lot of promise and drawbacks. Here are four pros and cons you can expect from it.
The biggest advantage that the metaverse offers is a virtual platform with no boundaries. Like any website, this platform could ideally go to anyone at any place in the world. Better yet, unlike a country or a marketplace with a specific IP, the metaverse could be a neutral zone. It’d be like living in another world, with no restrictions or limits.
You can already see that kind of work happening on social media platforms. More often than not, you can search for and message people from all over the world through Facebook or Twitter. Though the internet isn’t the most interactive tool, it has already helped people around the globe meet one another. With the metaverse, this kind of interaction would go beyond just texts or words. It could lead to public gatherings, virtual concerts, and other activities, all without leaving the safety of home. In other words, once you invest in Metaverse, you invest in a future where connections could literally have no barriers.
As an idea, the metaverse is an eye-opening possibility that could change how we live. In practice, however, that kind of platform would still be experimental. Since we’re only starting to discover and develop that kind of technology, the metaverse is too new to fully understand.
Unfortunately, this also means that cybercrime would be a big issue. Unlike the secure firewalls and countermeasures that websites use today, the metaverse is still volatile. It’d be easier to hack and disrupt than other platforms, especially those that spent years developing better security online. So, until technology catches up to what we want, it’s not going to be completely safe from any potential hackers or scammers. If you want to invest in Metaverse, make sure you understand the risks these types of technology face.
In the past, socializing was all about speaking to and hanging out with people on the block. Nowadays, most kids go online to make friends and form bonds. It’s not uncommon for people to have friends that they’ve only ever met online, especially on social media sites.
By taking time to invest in Metaverse, you could also be investing in the future of social media. Sure, posts and tweets are the standards of today. However, within the next few years, you could be spending time with close friends through a virtual avatar. In other words, the metaverse could be the advancement of social media, the next logical upgrade in cyberspace.
When you’re online, you tend to distance yourself from the physical world. People who used to go out every day might spend more time on their phones now. Unfortunately, while online technology grows, personal space has become more distant than ever. The metaverse may not be an ideal place for real-life bonds, let alone face-to-face interactions.
Cryptocurrencies and NFTs are among the latest financial technologies (fintech) to come out of the world. The idea of online currency and digital goods sounds interesting. Now, imagine that there is an actual marketplace for those coins and products, all in cyberspace. That could all take place in the metaverse. So, if you choose to invest in Metaverse now, you could help get a piece of the financial future. However, be mindful that this possibility might take several years to come out, and even more years to perfect.
Supporting such a big and expansive world would require some powerful computers. Unfortunately, that kind of technology isn’t cheap. Things like VR headsets, haptic feedback vests, and other digital components could make the metaverse difficult. After all, how can you access a virtual world when you can’t even afford the devices for it? In fact, there are still parts of the world where fast internet connection is a big problem; some places struggle to even have a signal for their WiFi, let alone how stable it is. While the metaverse could be a cool and interesting world, there’s no guarantee that it’ll be readily available to everyone.
Have you ever heard of The Matrix? Made by the Wachowskis, it’s a sci-fi film all about living in the virtual world, where all our senses and actions exist in a program. While the movie focuses on a post-apocalyptic future, let’s turn our attention to how that virtual world could help us. For starters, it could act as a three-dimensional workspace! Going to your desk or filling out all the paperwork in virtual reality would sound a lot easier than getting out of the house every day.
It’s not that far-fetched of an idea, either. Many tech experts and developers are already looking for ways to build such a platform. For instance, Mark Zuckerberg himself said that he envisioned a virtual workspace where all employees could interact without issue. Plus, if you include the success of Zoom, you can say that there are already real-life examples of virtual office meetings. In other words, the idea of a simulated office might not seem so silly anymore. If you invest in Metaverse, you could be able to visit and observe all your office affairs with a single click!
There are already several people in the world who spend half of their day on social media or video games. What’s to say that they wouldn’t get addicted to the metaverse, too? As with any device, proper discipline is needed to help people avoid being too attached to their online or virtual personas. Unfortunately, given how many people are already obsessed with being online for games or posts, it’s likely that several would also become metaverse addicts.
Now that you have a better idea of the metaverse and its usefulness, it’s time to learn how to invest in it. While the metaverse may not be complete or refined, there are already multiple ways you can cash in on its growth. Here are seven ways you can start to invest in Metaverse.
Cryptocurrency is a fascinating work of art, even though it has its hiccups. A form of digital currency, it uses cryptography to stay both unique and secure. Thanks to its unique creation process, crypto tokens are also difficult to recreate or forge.
If you want to start investing in cryptocurrency, however, you should be careful of its value. Tokens are volatile and can easily rise or fall in their worth. Compared to traditional money, it’s more unstable and hectic. So, if you want to bank on those tokens, make sure you spend only as much money as you’re fine with losing.
While there are multiple ways you can use the metaverse, there aren’t a lot of clear paths to entering it. Finding platforms for this virtual space, let alone ones that have promise, is crucial. Think of it like investing in a boat or a plane if you want to travel across the sea.
For example, you could start to invest in Metaverse by checking out Decentraland or Sand Box. Both platforms offer user-friendly access to avatars, digital lands, and virtual artworks. You could build an online version of yourself to explore the digital marketplace and browse all its potential products. From outfits to virtual lots, these platforms give you a good introduction to the virtual realm of tomorrow.
Non-fungible tokens, better known as NFTs, are cryptographic assets. Like cryptocurrency, these digital products exist on a blockchain and can be tracked. However, unlike tokens, NFTs represent real-life assets or things. For example, they can be codified versions of unique artwork, pictures, original songs, and even digital lots.
With an NFT, you can invest in Metaverse with a collateral asset in your hands. Like owning a good painting, you can use NFTs and their digital value to help you gain some leverage online. At some point, you may be able to trade or sell it off to another person for a good price. Until then, you can keep it in your stock and wait until the right buyer comes along.
In platforms like Decentraland, there are plots of digital land available for purchase. Like real land, these virtual areas could become more valuable when the metaverse starts to take shape. Think of it like buying a lot in a place that eventually becomes a subdivision. Once the area is more lucrative, it’ll be worth a lot more for purchase.
Another way of looking at digital land is through virtual real estate. Celebrities are already taking a chance on buying the various online assets they need. Some of them have large plots of online land or virtual spaces under their name. If you take the initiative to buy a lot near their place, your purchase becomes a lot more special in the future.
To invest in Metaverse, you need to invest in the companies that explore it. As I said before, the metaverse is still in its infancy. Even though there are VR headsets and digital avatars being created, the world they can exist in is still being built. In other words, it could take a while before the metaverse becomes a part of everyday life.
That said, investing in companies that work on its development can be a great financial move. It’d be like investing in a phone company before its product launches and achieves success. Options like Meta and Amazon are already working on ways to make the metaverse accessible. By taking advantage of the present, you could find yourself with a great investment for the future.
While you can invest in one company for the future of the metaverse, that’d only be putting your eggs in one basket. The fact is that the metaverse could become a big part of tomorrow, but how important it is could change. Some experts believe that it could simply be a fad, a craze of the near future that slowly disappears over time. However, others believe that it could become a trend that grows as part of our culture and our lives.
Whatever the future could be, investing in the various companies and developers working towards it can be a big gamble. It could either be a short-term payoff or a long-term financial aid. Investing with the money you can spare can always help you see if the hype is worth all the effort. Just remember that it could take a decade before you see results. The metaverse is still an idea of the future, so getting there will take time. Only time will tell if it’s just a fad or a game-changer. S, if you still want to invest in Metaverse, always remember that nothing is for certain.
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