‘The Metaverse’ is the hottest buzzword making waves in the tech industry, but only a few would agree to be experts in the concept. It has captured the world’s imagination, and everyone from venture capitalists to the Silicon Valley tech giants is obsessed with the far-reaching metaverse ecosystem.
In what seems like an innovation taking the world by storm, the metaverse concept was first coined about 30 years ago as science fiction by Neal Stephenson. Notably, the metaverse ecosystem developers are still in their initial stages—and even though the metaverse economy could be decades away, some of its blending technologies and concepts are already taking shape in the metaverse ecosystem.
This article will look at the metaverse ecosystem, some blending technologies that make the ecosystem revolutionary, and how metaverse works with them.
The Metaverse Ecosystem
The ecosystem provides a virtual landscape where metaverse users can meet, work, game, and interact as 3D avatars. You can think of it as a future iteration of the internet technology that provides an alternative to the physical world driven by digital products and experiences that are highly interactive and immersive.
With the power of blockchain technology and virtual reality, the metaverse ecosystem has the potential to do more things beyond the metaverse epic games that currently provide the closest feel of the metaverse environment.
Metaverse and Virtual Reality
Virtual reality (VR) technology has been around for a long time now. Major tech companies have been investing in the tech as they bet on VR’s potential to rule workplace interactions and collaborations. Facebook, now Meta, acquired virtual reality company Oculus in 2014 for $2.3 billion. Microsoft is also among the noteworthy companies that have progressed in VR and mixed reality (MR). They are already applying VR headsets in performing tasks like designing systems and structures, monitoring operations, and onboarding and training new teams. Businesses also widely use video conferencing to support remote working and one-on-one interactions.
With a virtual reality headset, users have more immersive experiences, which makes it a significant technology in the metaverse utility. Under the metaverse ecosystem, VR is set to become the next-generation technology with a purpose-built infrastructure for supporting a virtual 3D world with unlimited user experiences and business applications. Users will be able to do everything from meeting with friends, playing their favorite games, attending business conferences, purchasing virtual merchandise, and more using a digital presence.
Metaverse and Blockchain
Blockchain technology exploded in 2009 with the emergence of cryptocurrencies. It introduced the principle of decentralization to the world, and today, there are multiple blockchain-based platforms with different use cases. The metaverse world is incomplete without blockchain technology and its world of digital assets. The metaverse would be limited by the shortcomings of the conventional centralized currencies and centralized data storage. Under blockchain technology, the metaverse ecosystem can now function as a digital world based on the principle of decentralization. It provides the infrastructure for creating, owning, and monetizing assets in the virtual space.
Also, the fact that the metaverse exists in a digital world with digital tokens of value means that security is a critical part of the ecosystem. Metaverse ecommerce platforms and metaverse ecosystem coins rely on blockchain’s security and data storage capabilities. Blockchain uses a distributed ledger network that serves as a decentralized database. Data records follow a chronological order and are stored in interconnected blocks. The blocks are then broken down into shards, distributed to the different nodes, and assigned a private key. That way, it becomes impossible to alter the data.
Finally, the metaverse group relies on blockchain technology’s smart contracts to regulate economic, social, legal, and other interactions within the metaverse ecosystem. Organizations can develop and implement their basic rules of operation for users, so that specific actions will complete once the set rules are met.
Metaverse Digital Assets
With the various applications of the metaverse, money is an important part of the ecosystem, where digital assets become useful. The virtual economy is powered by metaverse coins created by different companies to support various functions. For instance, gaming service providers can use a game token or a metaverse ecosystem token to reward players. Gaming enthusiasts can also redeem their in-game items for an acceptable digital asset: a cryptocurrency token or an NFT. Some of the noteworthy metaverse 2021 coins include Decentraland, Axie Infinity, Render Token, Ethereum, and The Sandbox, to name a few.
NFTs, non-fungible tokens, form the latest type of blockchain-based digital assets that integrate with the metaverse to power the metaverse ecosystem. Typically, NFTs are digital representations of real-world items, making them a perfect type of digital asset to represent items in the digital world. The metaverse community can tokenize their digital properties like the avatars, real estate properties on the metaverse land, and in-game items, which they can sell on the metaverse NFT marketplaces.
Metaverse and DeFi
With blockchain technology and digital assets supporting the metaverse ecosystem, the impacts of decentralized finance (DeFi) on the metaverse are inevitable. Decentralized finance allows the metaverse community to access financial instruments without relying on intermediaries, with smart contracts at the center. That means the metaverse world can operate an entire economy with participants accessing all financial services without the need for conventional-like banking institutions.
The impacts of DeFi on metaverse are already manifesting as companies begin to raise funds for their metaverse projects and venture capitalists invest billions to make the metaverse a reality.
Closing Thoughts
The world is inching its way towards the future, and the metaverse concept could just be the beginning. Many of the initially perceived science and fiction technologies are now operational. We are already experiencing virtual worlds in live concerts and virtual gaming platforms where gaming enthusiasts spend hundreds of hours.
Notably, the layers of the metaverse are built on futuristic technologies that are full of promise. As these technologies continue to evolve, the world looks to richer and limitless experiences and capabilities under the metaverse ecosystem.