The open virtual world, for which the term metaversion is adopted, has been multiplying in recent months and is beginning to invest heavily in it. Decentraland or Sandbox platforms are at the forefront of interest. Virtual real estate and land are sold for hundreds of thousands to millions of crowns. Although their actual use is minimal, companies and individuals do not want to escape the start of promising technology.
The social version of Facebook, which was renamed Meta last year and announced that it would focus entirely on creating a functional model of the virtual world in the coming years, attracted attention to the meta version. From now on, other companies such as Microsoft or Nvidia are added to the meta-version. Older projects that have been dedicated to virtual and augmented reality platforms for several years are also reappearing.
The world of virtual and augmented reality is growing much slower than expected years ago. Four years ago, some experts expected the market to generate more than $ 150 billion a year in 2020, Futurism.com wrote. The reality, however, is that last year’s revenues barely exceeded $ 30 billion, according to Statista.com. However, this may soon change, especially thanks to Facebook, after whose announcement the attention of the media, celebrities, and the public turned to the concept of metaversion.
If you are interested in cryptocurrencies, click here so you can register an account today, and start earning from crypto.
The most famous virtual worlds
For example, the Decentraland and The Sandbox platforms are well-known, which could be described as virtual worlds, in which events such as concerts, fashion shows and other real-world events can take place. The mentioned platforms are flexible, so it is possible to build a world in them according to the creator’s preferences.
Since announcing Facebook that it is entering the virtual world, prices for virtual real estate have increased fivefold in the aforementioned Decentraland. Tokens.com, a blockchain technology company, recently bought $ 2.5 million worth of land in Decentraland.
On the rival platform The Sandbox, a recently unknown buyer paid $ 450,000 for land adjacent to the virtual real estate of famous rapper Snoop Dogg, who is currently creating his virtual world. “I’m always looking for other ways to connect with the fans, which is why we’ve created an environment in the Sandbox where we can meet virtually, release NFTs, and hold exclusive concerts,” the well-known rapper described his “Snoopverse”.
“The digital world is as important to some as the real world. It’s not about what you believe in, but about what will happen in the future, “real estate agent Oren Alexander told CNBC. “Although this vision seems distant and completely absurd, we should keep in mind that people once had doubts about the potential importance of the Internet, and so did social networks,” Theo Tzanidis of the University of the West of Scotland reports to The Fashion Law. The motivation can be twofold – a bet on the further development of the digital world or an escape from the real world.
What is Decentraland? Beginner’s guide
The potential of virtual real estate is also perceived by the real estate investment fund Republic Realm, which bought land in Decentraland for an amount of almost twenty million crowns. This transaction took place in June last year when only a small community was dedicated to the virtual worlds. Since then, therefore, Republic Realm’s investment has appreciated, as evidenced by the fact that Tokens bought much smaller virtual plots more than doubled just five months later.
As early as 2018, experts questioned whether there was a bubble in the virtual real estate market. At that time, the environment of Decentraland was not available, but it was already possible to buy land worth several thousand dollars. “People have spent thousands of dollars on virtual real estate without being sure what they will actually be able to build there, how they will be able to do it, who will be able to visit them, and possibly how to monetize it,” wrote Ryan Schultz in 2018. he has been dealing with virtual worlds for almost two decades.
Stay safe while being online with the NordVPN service. NordVPN keeps your data hidden from your internet provider and helps to secure your connection. Click here to register an account.
Both NFT tokens and cryptocurrency play a role
The two platforms are connected by the use of non-interchangeable token (NFT) binding to the cryptocurrency ethereum. The Sandbox has a Sand token, Decentraland uses a Mana token. Both can be traded, so their value can be monitored and if the purchase of land is just an investment, then sell it to other interested parties. There is no unlimited space even in virtual worlds. In total, land sold on the Sandbox platform for almost one hundred million dollars, in Decentraland it is less than tens of millions of dollars.
