The Metaverse and Why Businesses Need It
The metaverse is one of the latest innovations in the crypto space. It is a virtual world where people can interact freely without the barriers experienced in the ordinary world. It has many features to enhance the user experience. Some of these features, like the underlying blockchain technology, will be of great help in reshaping the world.
Since the metaverse is a virtual world that people have crafted to overcome the limitations of the natural one, it will come with newer opportunities. The parent companies behind each iteration of the metaverse are out to make life better for people to get maximum adoption for their projects. Therefore, they are capitalizing on the shortcomings of the current world and mostly on economic structures.
About a decade ago, Satoshi Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin, a decentralized monetary system powered by underlying blockchain technology. Since then, blockchain technology has had applications in other projects that are not related to finance. It has helped in securing data and other private records. In the metaverse, it is the main innovation to prevent security breaches and protect data.
It also tracks alot of information on how the metaverse is going on along with AI. Combining these innovations could be of great help to businesses as they have a better chance to track their customers. It will also enhance the relationship and interaction between enterprises and their customers. As a result, e-Commerce will be a ruling business there.
Due to the above reasons, large corporations and some government organizations have joined the metaverse. Perhaps you have ever wondered what the adoption of a fully realized metaverse would mean to the world’s economic landscape. Worry no more; below is some information on why the metaverse might be a game-changer for enterprises and the world economy.
E-Commerce Opportunities Presented by the Metaverse
Since the internet age came to the world and items began to be traded there, economies have seen radical change. Now, the metaverse capitalizes on the same concept of joining two worlds together for economic growth and might redefine e-commerce forever.
Below are some of the opportunities for e-commerce in the metaverse:
- Merging offline and online commerce: After the world learned how to merge online and offline commerce, businesses became more profitable. The metaverse offers a chance to capitalize on the same concept without the barriers experienced in the ordinary world like logistics and international remittances.
- Economic inclusion and community building: Like other blockchain technologies, the metaverse aims to improve the inclusion of people and rally together communities in a better way. Some people miss experiencing some of their dreams due to issues with logistics, but the metaverse will solve it through omnipresence. Due to that functionality, people will rally together in a better way, and digital economies will be built better.
- Improving personalization of items for sale: Blockchain technology records all transactions done in public ledgers. With the right technology, this information can be accessed but not modified. That way, brands can improve the personalization of the items for specific clients. The customers also can model the products to best fulfill their needs which is an essential function of the metaverse.
- Better engagement between brands and their customers: Brands will have a better chance of interacting with their customers. They can track how clients carry out their shopping outings and improve their experiences through blockchain technology. They can also organize more personalized offers that will keep their customers happy.
- Global reach: One of the best ways to increase the profitability of a business is to increase its exposure to the market. The metaverse offers that opportunity as it will be available globally. That way, businesses can enjoy advertising and selling their products to global customers.
- Better customer insights: It will be easier for the businesses and brands established in the metaverse to study their customers’ shopping habits. In turn, they will capitalize on them and leap more profits.
Brands can quickly establish themselves by becoming early adopters of the metaverse and capitalizing on the above opportunities. They can also use intuited advertisements in the virtual world to build their name there and in the everyday world concurrently to maximize their profitability.
How to Invest in the Metaverse
There are several ways how to invest in the metaverse. Most of these ways deal with investing in companies with metaverse projects in development. One can choose to invest in Metaverse stocks, metaverse land, and metaverse cryptos.
Metaverse Stocks.
The least risky way of investing in the metaverse is to hold stocks of publicly traded companies that have projects tied to the metaverse. These companies are led mainly by qualified teams and are safer than investing directly in the metaverse. Some of the companies that have invested in the metaverse and their stocks include:
Meta platforms Inc (Nasdaq: FB), Led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is among the pioneers of the metaverse. It invested $10B in building its metaverse and announced returns of $2B from it during Q4 2021 reports. It also plans to continue investing more money in the metaverse and is a publicly-traded company, thus reducing the risks of investing directly in the metaverse.
NVIDIA Corp(NASDAQ: NVDA) NVIDIA is a softwares and hardware solutions company. It is well known for its work on computers with high-end capabilities and graphics to support complex tasks and gaming. It is publicly traded in the US and is also developing its metaverse, which makes it a stock to keep an eye on.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Microsoft is one of the many companies invested in the metaverse. It acquired Activision at $69B to pursue the metaverse in its largest deal some months ago. One of the advantages of investing in its stocks is that there is little risk of enormous losses since one is not investing directly in the metaverse. It is also a publicly-traded company, making it a better opportunity than private ones since it is governed by strict US company laws on investor protection.
Metaverse Land
Real estate has always been among the most lucrative investment opportunities that one could think of. It is because land always gains value if taken care of and according to where it is situated. The same concept is applied in the metaverse, where virtual lands are available for sale.
These lands could be good investment plans as they might gain value parallel to the growth in popularity of the metaverse in question. Metaverse lands are available for auction during the launch of most metaverses.
It is also the cheapest way to invest in the metaverse lands. Suppose the lands are bought without the knowledge of a given investor. In that case, the investor can follow the specific procedure given on the website of their favorite metaverse platform and acquire one.
Metaverse Tokens
The other way of investing in the metaverse is buying and holding metaverse tokens and cryptocurrencies. They gain value as the metaverse increases in value since they have a utility in the platform that they were created for.
Some of the best metaverses cryptos to invest in include:
- Decentraland’s MANA
- The Sandbox’s SAND
- Axie infinity’s AXS
- Enjin Coin (ENJ)
Big Banks Are Joining the Metaverse; What For?
Big banks like Goldman Sachs have been joining the metaverse lately. The big question is why are these traditional financial institutions so interested in such an innovation. During its official announcement of joining the metaverse, Goldman stated that they believe it is a trillion-dollar a year innovation.
That translates that the financial institutions see opportunities in the metaverse for them to develop further. These opportunities include:
- Enhancing clients’ experiences through virtual content and better interaction between them.
- Exposing users to the world of virtual assets
- Enhancement of the speed of transactions through digital assets and the underlying blockchain technology
- To fill up positions of validators to provide services where trust is needed in digital economic ecosystems of the metaverse.
- To participate in the growing blockchain lending protocols.
- To be early investors in the financial opportunities that need to be filled for the metaverse to fully realize.
Away from the economic sector, the metaverse will affect all other sectors of human interactions. Here is how the metaverse might influence other sectors of human activities
How the Metaverse Will Change the Content Creation Paradigm.
The metaverse has the advantage of bringing people from the whole world together. That feature makes it easier for advertisers to leap big from it as the showcased information will reach all people. The feature will also be very beneficial to businesses and content creators due to the ease of showcasing products and services to the customer base.
The metaverse will change the paradigm of content creation in many ways. Some of these ways include:
Decentralized governance over talents. Content creators have been misused by platforms that claim to help them. Due to the insufficient funds to make an infrastructure that could support their work, they turn to platforms that make money off them. Now, the metaverse will solve this issue by introducing decentralization where content creators can market, manage and sell their work more efficiently.
Widening of the market for content creators. Access to the market has always been a significant issue with content creators. It is almost impossible for them to access the market without relying on centralized platforms that misuse them. However, that will change with the metaverse since it will connect people better, and content creators will have the market at their disposal.
Digitization of content. Piracy and breach of copyrights have always been a great challenge to content creators. Since the metaverse is a virtual world, the content must be in digital format before it can find its way there. The digitization process of the content will require securing it using blockchain technology and making it unique in ways akin to NFTs. As a result, piracy and breach of copyrights will be at controlled levels since no similar content will exist there.
Ease of advertising. The main point of the metaverse is to bring people together and improve communication speed. People will enjoy that functionality as they will control where they want to be and what they want to find. Advertisers can capitalize on this functionality as their adverts will have the chance of being viewed by almost everyone.
How the Metaverse Will Change the Communications Sector
Communication is pivotal in any economy, so the metaverse will have to influence it long before other sectors. The underlying AI and blockchain technologies will be responsible for reshaping the communications sector.
Below are some of the ways how the metaverse will rebuild the communications sector:
Data privacy: Blockchain technology serves as a digital ledger that saves data in a way that cannot be compromised once blocks of data are chained together. All of the communications in the metaverse will be under this technology hence more data secure.
Decentralization of data: Blockchain systems in the metaverse are optimized for decentralization. That means that data will be stored safely without the fear of modification by malicious intents.
Consensus mechanisms: Decentralized systems call for consensus while making modifications. The metaverse will apply this technology to prevent things like leaks and malicious destruction of information.
Faster data transmission speeds: For the metaverse to work appropriately, it has to be connected to high-speed networks. Such technologies are already cropping up, with the likes of SpaceX presenting their latest Starlink technology that has admirable data transaction speeds. Such speed will also be enjoyed in the metaverse.
The Art Industry Meets the Metaverse – What to Expect
The art industry and digital economies seem inseparable now. With NFTs, the Art industry has significantly improved in many aspects, including digital rights, a larger market, more profits, and better distribution.
In the metaverse, the Art industry will be one of the most prominent winners. Art will be digital, and all of the activities there will be virtual. These are some of the changes that one can expect to find in the Art industry in the metaverse:
NFT metaverses. While this may sound new, it is not. Some metaverse will be built as NFT metaverses where people can mint and trade any NFT they ever thought about. Such metaverses will serve as the most lucrative marketplaces for artists. Yuga Labs, the creator of BAYC, has already introduced the concept to such a metaverse.
Virtual galleries. Rich people and others who are fascinated by the work of art love visiting galleries in the real world. However, many miss out due to logistic difficulties or small windows offered by galleries that present high-end artistic works. The metaverse will solve these issues as people will have equal access to all social events, including gallery viewing.
Galleries will be available in the metaverses as virtual installations showcasing NFTs that can be bought and stored in digital wallets in the real world. Such functionality will bridge the virtual world and the natural world through art.
Virtual fashion and design shows. Fashion and design shows will take place similarly to the virtual galleries. People will have the chance to attend the shows virtually and purchase the attires that they find attractive from the avatars on the runways. The attires will be tokenized to be stored in digital wallets. Ticketing of the fashion shows will also rely on NFTs.
Decentralization of talent. Artists will benefit the most from the metaverse through the decentralization of their services. They won’t be a need for people to rely on centralized organizations to sell the artworks on their behalf. The market will be ready, and advertisement will be much more accessible, leading to the removal of the need for a third party during marketing.
More profits to the artists’. Tokenization of art will be a big score since piracy will be done with. Also, the ease of access to the market through advertising and direct sale to clients will make artworks more profitable to the artists.
Metaverse- How Virtual Reality Can Change the Education Sector
The education sector will be reshaped by the metaverse extensively. As everything will be done virtually, the need for physical schools won’t be there. The schools may exist in the metaverse where everyone will have avatars to represent them. Informal education will also come back where every student can access any learning material that they want to learn by themselves and get certified electronically.
Informal education will also be explored through apprenticeship as people will pick skills from watching others work and trying them out in return. Even though there are endless opportunities for the education sector in the metaverse, it may be a big challenge for formal education as students may evade schools more often due to distractions. Tutors may also lose their jobs and be replaced by AI avatars.
How the Metaverse Will Help in the Evolution of the Medical Sector.
Virtual reality will significantly reshape the medical sector but not so much for physical needs like hospitalization. Below are how the medical sector may change due to the metaverse.
- Minor illnesses will be addressed virtually, and prescriptions will be given for the patient to physically seek their medication.
- Medical researchers will have an easier time as the AI and blockchain technologies will aid in mining new information and storing it safely.
- Treatment sessions will be faster as the need for queues and waiting times will be eradicated by connecting people to the available specialists worldwide.
- Historical medical records will be kept more safely and doctor-patient privileges monitored through AI and blockchain technology.
What Are Big Companies Doing With the Metaverse?
The metaverse seems to be beaming with many opportunities. As a result, large organizations are rushing to the metaverse to build their own or invest in them. Below are some of the large companies involved with the metaverse and what they are doing there.
META. As the parent company of some of the largest social media platforms, Meta is a force to reckon with. It has confirmed building a metaverse project worth $10B and still plans to invest more funds.
NVIDIA. It is a well-known company that deals with technology related to computer systems. It is building a metaverse, too, which seems like a great deal as the company focuses on better graphics and computer performances.
Microsoft. Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft, is against Bitcoin as he even branded it a fool’s gold during an interview with CNBC. However, in the same interview, he hinted that his company was eyeing the metaverse. Not long ago, it acquired Activision at a mouth-watering price of $69B to use it in building a metaverse.
Nike. The sportswear company is going to great lengths to advance in the metaverse earlier than its competitors like Adidas. It has already developed NFT sneakers to present in the metaverse and sold a number of them. It also has a metaverse project in development called the Nikeland.
Goldman Sachs. Being one of the largest Wall Street banks is not stopping Goldman from pursuing the latest innovations. It recently acquired a lounge in the Decentraland metaverse for people to go and get financial advice. It also views the metaverse as a Trillion Dollar Opportunity.
Atom. Being an event firm in Mumbai, Atom plans to expand its wingspan and cover events worldwide. As a result, it has purchased a lounge in the Decentraland metaverse where it plans to host its future events. Other large event companies may follow in the steps of Atom as the metaverse is a real opportunity for event hosts.
What Public Figures Think of the Metaverse
A lot has been spoken about the metaverse by many people. Even though they are personal opinions, some of these people are very knowledgeable, and it is good to keep looking at what they think.
Elon Musk. Musk believes that we are years away from getting into the metaverse due to a lack of suitable technology. In an interview with The Babylon Bee, he said:
“It gets uncomfortable to have this thing (AR/VR headsets) strapped to your head the whole time,” he added. “I think we’re far from disappearing into the metaverse.”
Haim Israel. Haim is the strategist for the Bank of America, making him one of the most significant people in the financial sector. In December 2021, he said,
“I believe this is a massive opportunity,” referring to the metaverse.
Bill Gates. The CEO of Microsoft has high hopes about the future of the metaverse. He also addressed it in his blog post sometime back.
“Within the next two or three years, I predict most virtual meetings will move from 2D camera image grids…to the metaverse, a 3D space with digital avatars,” Gates wrote in his blog post.
Final Word
While it is evident that the metaverse is still in its early phases, the big question is what the future will bring to it. This innovation touches on almost every sector of human interaction, making it open to direct criticism and support globally. Most people in technology think that it is possible, but we are missing the right technology to drive it.
That claim is valid as Elon Musk says that it may be tiresome to keep watching a screen all day long with headsets on. Musk also believes that neural link chips would work better as they send electrical signals to the brain, making it function as if it were in another dimension. Since that technology is still far from realization, the only available means to enter the metaverse is by AR/VR headsets.
Even though there is fear surrounding this innovation, it is best to start adopting the safest strategies to invest in it. The metaverse offers too many advantages and opportunities for institutions to ignore. These organizations have already started executing their strategy of investing in the metaverse. Some are busy building their metaverses while others are investing in the ones building metaverses like warren Buffet’s organizations.
The faith that these institutions have in the chance created by the metaverse should signal individual investors to start building their portfolios with metaverse-related assets. Such assets are available with stocks, ETFs, cryptos, metaverse lands being sold at relatively low prices.
However, investors should learn how to invest in the metaverse through building sustainable portfolios. Since the metaverse and the crypto space are still in their early stages of development, it is best to keep researching them to stay ahead of the curve.
