The metaverse is one of the biggest innovations of the 21st century. In fact, the word 'METAVERSE' is one of the buzzwords that have gained massive popularity over the last decade.
The metaverse is by no means a new concept. The term 'metaverse' was coined by Neal Stephenson in the 1992 novel 'snow crash'. In the novel, this term was used to describe a virtual world in a dystopian future.
Last year Mark Zuckerberg changed the name of his company, Facebook, into 'Meta' and announced that the metaverse would be one of its foremost concerns.
In this virtual world, anything from socializing to working can be done as easily as in the physical world.
Very possible. We are quickly heading towards the era of the virtual world. One where real people can 'exist' in virtual worlds. This virtual world is built on top of the real world and can be thought of as an extension of the reality most of us are familiar with.
The metaverse uses technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to create virtual worlds that anyone can visit and explore.
There is no limit to the applications of this kind of technology. Everything from working to gaming to virtual dating is possible on the metaverse, and those are only the more common use cases.
Doing so much as going to work or attending a party shouldn't be an exclusively physical activity.
The short answer is yes. The prefix of the word metaverse means 'beyond'. The other half is derived from the word 'universe'. By extension, the word 'metaverse' refers to an alternate or virtual world that lies 'beyond' the one we know.
The idea of this new world being virtual, however, does not mean that it is vastly different from this one. In the meta, it is possible to buy anything from tickets to concerts/sporting events, video games, and even real estate (or virtual estate in this case).
Sales of virtual land are already booming. Individuals and corporations like JP Morgan, HSBC, and even Samsung have already begun buying land in the meta. All of whom intend to develop this land in the future for special purposes.
Like all other classes of innovative technology, the earliest investors always have the greatest advantage in terms of returns. Those who got in before now have already begun cashing in big returns. Virtually, at least.
Decentraland and The Sandbox are two of the biggest metaverse platforms. In 2021, the average price of the smallest plot of land on these platforms was around $1000. Today, these same plots are worth around $13,000. That is a whopping ROI of 1300%.
Different people have various reasons for purchasing virtual land. Some of these reasons can range from plans to resell to plans to develop said land by building a house or office from which to conduct business.
Regardless of your reasons, there is no immediate downside to owning a piece of landed property in a virtual world.
Buying land on the metaverse is usually done with cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH). Other cryptos include SAND or MANA (the native currency of the metaverse platforms, Sandbox and Decentraland, respectively).
Purchase of land on the metaverse can be made directly from these platforms. Decentraland and the Sandbox have a well-established infrastructure. This has attracted many investors/landowners, including Snoop Dogg and other celebrities.
If buying directly from these platforms isn't for you, it is possible to purchase land from third-party resellers like OpenSea and NonFungible.com
It is very reasonable to be concerned about whether buying virtual land is a safe investment or not. Like trading cryptocurrencies, investing in the metaverse is subject to a high amount of risk. Despite the potential returns a single investment can bring, it is important to exercise caution before putting your hard-earned money into any new endeavour.