There are many ways to invest in the next digital frontier. Metaverse real estate and stocks are just two of them.
In 1992, author Neal Stephenson released his third book, “Snow Crash.” This book is set in a completely digital world where appearances can be changed at any time and digital real estate is just as valuable as its real-life counterpart. Stephenson called his digital world the Metaverse.
There are public companies like Meta (formerly Facebook) and DAOs like the Decentraland Foundation that are working to make the metaverse a profitable reality after 28 years. That has given retail investors, gamers, digital collectors, and developers all kinds of new ways to make money.
It’s important to keep in mind, though, that the metaverse is still in its infancy and its value proposition hasn’t been proven yet. Any investment in the metaverse should be very risky and speculative.
Metaverse stocks
Investing in publicly traded companies that have business models or profits that are linked to the metaverse is the least risky way for people who want to buy into the metaverse. The list has things like:
In the stock market, Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) – In October, Mark Zuckerberg said that the company that used to be called Facebook Inc. would change its name and become Meta Platforms Inc. The Horizon Worlds virtual reality metaverse platform has been released by Meta since the news was made. As a gift this holiday season, Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 VR headset was also a big hit. It’s not clear, though, if more people will use Horizon Worlds because more people buy headsets.
Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) is an online platform that lets gamers make and share virtual worlds with other Roblox users. There are now more than 9.5 million people who make games on Roblox, and there are more than 49.4 million people who use it every day. That’s up 35% from last year. Still, the company hasn’t made a profit, even though it has a lot of money. Read also; DeepMind and its New AI Language Model Gopher
Boeing (NYSE: BA) is a company that makes planes. Boeing is using the metaverse to make more and better products. He said that Boeing is planning to make a special digital environment for its employees to communicate with each other and work together from all over the world. Greg Hyslop is Boeing’s chief engineer.
It’s Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). As a company, Microsoft is trying to find a place for itself in the professional world with its “metaverse.” There will be Mesh for Microsoft Teams in 2022. Add-on: People will be able to make their own avatars and work together in a holographic 3D environment that doesn’t matter where they are in the world.
A key feature of Microsoft Mesh will be Holoportation, which is a tool that allows users to access the previously mentioned digital environment with a VR headset. There is a digital representation of the user who can interact with team members as if they were in the same room as the user.
Metaverse real estate
If you want to buy real estate in the metaverse, platforms like The Sandbox and Decentraland are already selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital tokens on blockchain networks that can be used to represent a wide range of different things, like real estate.
When someone buys real estate in the metaverse, the blockchain network that runs the platform verifies that the sale and transfer of ownership took place.
A person who owns metaverse real estate can rent, sell, or build on it after he buys it. Atari, a Japanese video game company, recently bought 20 parcels of virtual land in Decentraland and built its own crypto casino.
Gamblers can place bets and get their winnings in crypto tax-free with the help of Atari’s own ERC20-based token. Atari has also said that it plans to open a virtual hotel complex in 2022. This is a second project for the company.
How to buy land in the metaverse and other digital items
Users can buy and sell digital land and other items in the form of NFTs on a number of metaverse platforms. Here’s how you do it.
- The person who wants to buy metaverse real estate needs to figure out which platform he wants to buy digital real estate on. Decentraland and The Sandbox are two of the most popular options, but there are many more. Before you buy any land in the metaverse, do your homework first.
- The user needs to set up a digital cryptocurrency wallet, which is computer software that connects to a blockchain network and stores cryptocurrency and is compatible with the blockchain that runs the metaverse platform. This wallet is compatible with the blockchain that runs the metaverse platform.
- A buyer then needs to go to the marketplace on his chosen metaverse platform and link his digital wallet to it. This is step 3. People who use metaverse platform websites usually have places to buy and sell things.
- At this point, buying digital real estate looks a lot like buying real estate in the real world, so it’s not very different. A buyer needs to think about the price, where the land is, and how valuable it will be in the future.
- Once the buyer has identified a piece of land, he needs to acquire the tokens or coins to buy it with and store them on his digital wallet. Depending on which metaverse platform you use, the type of token or coin you need to make the transaction will be very different. For example, to buy land in Decentraland, a person would need to buy MANA tokens. To buy land in The Sandbox, he would need to get SAND tokens first.
- If the buyer has already connected his digital wallet to the metaverse marketplace and funded it, all he needs to do is place a bid on the land or buy the land outright. You’ll be able to get your land without having to pay for it. You’ll be able to get your land without having to pay the cost of it.
- The same process applies to buying other metaverse NFT items such as clothing and accessories for avatars.
Cryptocurrency in the metaverse
Metaverse projects on blockchain networks are powered by fungible tokens, which are tokens that can be split up and traded with other people. These tokens can be used to buy things like virtual land or clothes for avatars.
For example, they can also be exchanged for other crypto or real-world money. Some metaverse cryptocurrencies also let people who own them vote on things that happen on a platform like where money should be invested or which new features should be added first.
This means that it is a good idea to think that the value of digital assets and their tokens will go up as well. Decentraland, for example, burns all MANA tokens used to buy digital assets, which removes them from circulation and makes the remaining tokens more valuable.
Here are metaverse tokens in order of how much money they have in the market (market cap). These options are risky and should be thought of as a speculative investment. If you want to keep your money safe, don’t put in more money than you’re willing to lose.
- Decentraland (MANA) – With a market cap of about $6 billion at the time of writing, Decentraland’s MANA token powers the Decentraland metaverse and is used as a medium of exchange on the platform’s marketplace.
- Axie Infinity (AXS) – Unlike Decentraland’s MANA, which is used to purchase digital goods and services, Axie Infinity’s AXS token is a governance token. In the future, people who own AXS will be able to vote on proposed changes to the Axie Infinity ecosystem, like how funds in the community treasury are spent. As time goes on, there are plans to change the AXS token so that it can be used to buy digital goods and services on Axie Infinity.
- The Sandbox (SAND) – The Sandbox is like Roblox in that it’s all about user-created content, like that game. The SAND token is given to people who take part in The Sandbox’s alpha user testing. The SAND tokens can also be bought on digital exchanges. Useful, governance, and staking token: SAND is a token. Owners of SAND can use it to buy digital goods and services, vote on projects in The Sandbox, and stake their SAND to earn more rewards.
- Enjin Coin (ENJ) – Enjin is a blockchain gaming company. Like The Sandbox or Axie Infinity, which only have one metaverse product, Enjin has a lot of different play-to-earn games for its users. Enjin is unique because its native token, ENJ, is “infused” into every NFT that is made in its ecosystem. This could make digital assets have real-world value.
The future of the metaverse?
Companies that have a lot of money invested in the metaverse are spending a lot of money to convince people that the dawn of the metaverse is near. What do you think? Will it usher in a new era of mass adoption and barrier-free digital interaction, or will it be a niche product, only for gamers and future tech fans? Time will tell. For now, people who want to invest in the metaverse should look at these platforms and think about the value of the metaverse for themselves.
