Facebook’s name change to Meta last month has pushed the growth of the metaverse, both in terms of cultural awareness and in terms of financial gain. A growing number of well-known corporations are adopting the idea, and some industry experts are hailing it as the “next major investment idea.” According to the definition provided by Wikipedia, the Metaverse is “a complex of virtual environments where you may build and explore with other individuals who are not in the same physical area.”
At Facebook’s Connect 2021 conference on October 28, CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the new “Meta” name, which he referred to as “a social tech company.” “In the metaverse, you’ll be able to do practically everything you can think of — get together with friends and family, work, study, play, shop, create — as well as whole new experiences that don’t really match how we think about computers or phones today. For example, in the future you will have the ability to fly to the workplace, attend a concert, or spend time with your parents without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home, all thanks to holograms.
Blockchain and the Metaverse
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain do not have to be a part of the metaverse. It’s important to note that the actual metaverse is inextricably tied to a trust-less and verifiable record, which is what the blockchain idea is all about.
Since digital assets may only be owned by their rightful owners, crypto is an essential component in the metaverse. It’s possible that a monopoly may form in the metaverse, which would bring back the digital world’s dominance danger. Most importantly, crypto provides a viable alternative to that society, in which ownership is distributed more widely. To put it simply, cryptocurrency is positioned to play a significant part in the future of the Metaverse.
NFTs and social tokens, for example, are new technologies that might be utilized for a variety of purposes, from gaming and earning money to providing incentives for influencers and their supporters to host virtual concerts.
It’s not simply virtual reality and cartoon characters that make up the Metaverse. Anything that provides you a presence, interaction, and identity in a digital place may be a metaverse, from a Zoom conversation to commenting on your favorite social media postings. In this regard, crypto has a critical role to play in metaverse.
A Centralized or Decentralized Metaverse?
According to many, Zuckerberg’s metaverse concept lacks the openness and interoperability that blockchains provide, and instead relies on a central vision and hierarchical management over virtual spaces.
Rather of having a centralized authority with exclusive access to a network’s transactional history, blockchains capabilities allow for anonymous, public, and irreversible exchanges between users. It is more secure to use a blockchain-based token, for example, rather than a centralized money that may be lost or stolen.
AR vs VR: What’s the Difference?
AR (Augmented Reality)
In comparison to VR, augmented reality is more accessible to everyone with a smartphone and hence more effective for marketing and gaming purposes. A smartphone camera or video viewer may be used to project virtual images and characters onto the real environment. The purpose of augmented reality is to enhance the user’s perception of the actual world.
VR (Virtual Reality)
Using these identical elements in an altogether new way, virtual reality creates a computer-generated representation of a different world completely. With the use of computers, sensors, headsets, and gloves, these virtual reality simulations may give players access to almost any scene or location they can imagine.
Despite the fact that metaverse technology is still in its childhood, it is intended to one day be a location where you can do anything from work to play to study to create to shop to engage with friends in a virtual, online world.
