Does anyone remember the term superhighway? In the early 1990s experts indicated that high-speed data networks would soon connect millions of people across the globe. Ultimately allowing them to exchange information and linking them to “films and TV shows, shopping services, email and huge collections of data,” as the New York Times put it. Yet today millions use OTT platforms like Amazon and Netflix, Gmail and Wikipedia, and no one talks of cruising the information superhighway—or ever did. The vision was foreseeing, but the terminology perished.
Just like the information superhighway, the term “metaverse” now suggests that something similar is taking place. This time, it’s about the potential of 3D virtual worlds and how online communication and video game technology are fascinating modes. This is the subject of frenzied speculation. However, it is very hard to define, and none of the throngs gathering in virtual spaces at the time, such as Fortnite players, actually use the specific term.
In October 2021, when Facebook changed its name to Meta, it indicated its intentions for this new environment, which first came to the attention of the general public. People who had never heard the term “metaverse” prior believed it to be a brand-new Facebook service. However, the word has been used for years in the IT fraternity, and other companies, including prominent ones like Microsoft and Roblox, have actually staked their own claims to be metaverse retailers.
Expertise analyst Matthew Ball explains the concept of the metaverse as a relatively new name for an outdated idea. Neal Stephenson first used the word in his 1992 book “Snow Crash.” Matthew Ball credits “Pygmalion’s Spectacles,” a 1935 short story by Stanley Weinbaum, as well as later works by Ray Bradbury, Philip Okay Dick, Isaac Asimov, and William Gibson with the idea of a parallel, manufactured reality. All of their simulated worlds are dystopias, which is a striking fact that modern tech leaders have either overlooked or refused to acknowledge.
Matthew Ball’s overview of the evolution of virtual worlds in fiction and computer science provides insightful knowledge. But his notion of the metaverse—a network of 3D digital worlds that can be accessed simultaneously by millions of users around the world and in which they can exercise ownership rights over digital objects may prove to be his book’s most valuable contribution.
This definition is intriguing both for what it includes and for what it omits. Since headsets are optional and most people now access digital worlds via flat displays, it won’t just be a rebranding of virtual reality. Blockchains and non-fungible tokens aren’t mentioned either, despite Matthew Ball’s admission that they might be useful.
According to him, there must be only one metaverse, made up of numerous virtual worlds, just as there is only one web, which is made up of numerous different networks and services that are more valuable because they are connected.
Digital worlds already exist, therefore the next phases will be to scale them up to help more users, make them more functional and accessible, and design new gear to enable better immersion. On each of these fronts, progress is being made. However, connecting what are currently disparate realms will likely be the biggest challenge. For instance, taking digital clothing items from “Fortnite” into “Minecraft” is not likely.
Similarly, Matthew Ball asserts that sharing knowledge and collaboration between digital realms make proper business sense. Nowadays, people buy fewer items from video games and other virtual worlds than they would if ownership rights were more secure and items more portable. If you address these difficulties, more people will probably be willing to pay for them. Matthew believes that over time, economics will drive standardization and interoperability.
He draws an intriguing comparison to the development of smartphones. He stated that another way to consider the metaverse is the evolution of the cell web. With the advent of features like navigation apps and ride-hailing, mobile phones not only improved but also changed how people interact with the internet. The metaverse may represent a similar change in the web’s abilities and usage habits.
But don’t tech giants Apple and Google have a monopoly on the smartphone market? In this particular instance, “economic gravity” did not result in interoperability. According to Matthew, both the tech giants’ have control over price structures and app stores, which “limit the growth potential not only of virtual-world platforms but also the internet at large,” calls for legislative action.
The author wisely refrains from expending too much time attempting to consider all of the metaverse’s potential long-term applications or analyzing which of the current tech titans are best positioned to utilize it. He also doesn’t go very far into the inescapable problems with governance and regulation. Within the sport, it is far too early. Consider the forecasts made in 1993: they have largely come true, yet Netflix, Amazon, Gmail, and Wikipedia didn’t exist at the time. Even previous commerce leaders were overthrown by the rise of smartphones. An equivalent changing of the guard could be brought on by the metaverse.
Matthew Ball pointed out that even the term “metaverse” failed to catch on. By the end of the final decade, something akin to it will have materialized, although “we may ultimately use a different title for this future.” This newest phrase, like the information superhighway, seems to be heading on the right path but may be lost along the way. Matthew Ball’s well-timed e-book offers a gateway into a new world for everyone interested in learning the process and what’s at stake.
First Metaverse ATM
The first metaverse ATM is being introduced by the well-known metaverse platform Decentraland. The Ethereum blockchain powers the virtual reality platform Decentraland. Users on the platform can produce, consume, and make money from their own content and applications.
To make it simple for consumers to buy Mana or any other cryptocurrency, Decentraland has partnered with the Transak payment gateway and the Metaverse Architects studio. Mana is mainly utilized as a form of in-game money. In-game objects can be purchased and sold by players using cryptocurrency.
The developers say that the ATM is intended to ease the user experience.
In a post, the developers said, “Just like an ATM in real life, we wanted to give users a more seamless journey while navigating web3.”
One should note that banks are embracing the idea of the metaverse. At the beginning of 2022, J.P. Morgan opened its first metaverse lounge on Decentraland. In addition, cooperation between The Sandbox, a virtual game platform, and HSBC, the largest bank in the world, was also announced.
There are 90,000 properties altogether in Decentraland. Common areas, plazas, and roadways in Decentraland are owned by developers; people cannot purchase or sell them. One of the main factors influencing the price of land in Decentraland is its scarcity.
Digital Stores In Metaverse
When deciding to purchase a home, it is crucial to consider the area in which the property will be located. It appears that the metaverse will follow the same mantra. This is the immersive online space—still in its infancy—where our 3D avatars, resembling cartoon characters, may move about, interact with others, and communicates. Accessing it typically requires donning a pair of virtual reality (VR) goggles that are connected to your computer.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Meta, many of us will eventually work, play, and shop in the metaverse. Or at the very least, our avatars will. While many may find this a little crazy, more and more businesses are buying property in the metaverse in order to establish themselves there. Among them are Adidas, Burberry, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Samsung, Louis Vuitton, and even the financial institutions HSBC and JP Morgan.
The dilemma is which site these businesses finally select. Some of the most well-known world providers in the metaverse at the present are The Sandbox, Decentraland, Voxels, Somnium Space, as well as Meta’s own Horizon Worlds. Which of these will grow to dominate the metaverse and get the most visits from our avatars is a bet that retailers and other investors must make. Retailers and other investors must wager on which of these will dominate the metaverse and receive the most visits from our avatars.
On Decentraland is a businessman from Canada named Andrew Kiguel. He made a 2021 bitcoin investment of USD 2.4 million (the currency needed to conduct a transaction in the metaverse) to purchase some property in Decentraland’s authorized fashion retail area.
Kiguel, the proprietor of the cryptocurrency exchange Tokens.com, asserts to have previously organized a fashion show and plans to rent out his space to the industry.
The idea behind these companies is that you can shop for items from a clothing store in the metaverse and have them delivered to your real-world address. You might even invest in a brand-new virtual outfit for your avatar.
NFTically came up with a report in June 2022, on the future of Metaverse in our formal economy. It remarked, “Constructing of metaverse economics is underway. Major corporations are ceasing their efforts to establish themselves in the virtual domain. New research shows that the Metaverse could add USD 3 trillion (€2.8 trillion) to the global GDP in ten years if it grows in popularity as mobile technology has.”
The study also cited the economists at the international consulting firm Analysis Group, who found that expanding the virtual world could add 1.7% or USD 440 billion (€417 billion) to Europe’s economy in 10 years.
The research also stated that if everyone started using technology on a large scale in 2022, it would add 2.8% to the world’s GDP by 2031.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no virtual economy inside the Metaverse. Because of this, these innovations have far-reaching and significant economic impacts. The Metaverse will alter various present economic factors, including employment, specialized industries, and infrastructure.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remote labour has become the new and dominant trend in the formal economy. Organizational frameworks that explicitly foster a WFA culture are becoming more common in large corporations. Now, workers worldwide may take advantage of several new possibilities due to this paradigm change.
Professionals with a high skill level may find a job in their home nation without needing to travel. Thus, these employees will create income that will in turn be reinvested in the local economy. Opportunities to engage will multiply as it expands.
Here, Metaverse will come in handy as it will open up a whole new world of possibilities for remote work platforms. Users not only can access entire office suites through their virtual avatars, but they can also connect with their colleagues, and explore more of their office life without travelling physically. It is expected that this expansion would lead to additional employment possibilities around the nations, bringing money to previously underserved regions.
Additionally, the Metaverse will provide a wide variety of educational options for people, as the educational and training facilities will be much more advanced and immersive than those on Earth.
“Isn’t it tempting to imagine attending a virtual training school where you may interact with professors, courses, and other students? And this is only one example of the many possibilities. Also, in the Metaverse, organizations may send their personnel on virtual training courses that anybody can attend,” the NFTically report commented.
Employers may be able to afford to recruit more highly qualified people due to these improvements. Increased wages may lead to higher taxes, which frees up resources for further economic growth.
“We should anticipate metaverse-related changes in areas like digital infrastructure. The ecosystem cannot operate without digital infrastructure projects. It’s plausible to argue that the digital infrastructure rather than the other way around,” the research said further.
The Metaverse will impact digital infrastructure. Massive data centres will become needed to store the data generated.
To meet the increased demand, chip designers and makers of other computer or gadget components will have to create more of their products. The digital infrastructure relies on the capacity to switch between a 24-hour parallel virtual world and the natural world at any given time. It has the potential to become not just the most significant digital infrastructure project ever but the largest infrastructure project ever completed.
“Metaverse will also boost global economic development. The purchases, language, and pomp around the Metaverse may make us forget that it reflects the real world. A distinct virtual economy will be created to preserve society’s people, places, and experiences, replete with virtual professions that bring genuine value. It is predicted that the global economy will grow at a fast speed due to the seemingly unlimited opportunities for making money. A virtual world also has no limitations,” the report added.
The Asia-Pacific area would profit most from the metaverse, with a 2.3% rise in GDP, or USD 1.04 trillion (€993.9 billion) if implemented in 2022.
Companies like Roblox, Nvidia, and Microsoft have also built virtual worlds using virtual or augmented reality technology in the past.
“The western world was ahead of the curve when it came to building the infrastructure for communication, which led to the internet we use today. Now everyone seems linked and developing the metaverse at once,” the report concluded.
“However sceptical some individuals may feel about the metaverse and web3, real change is happening right now. Foundational technologies are converging, NFTs are being issued, cryptocurrencies are being developed, innovative smart contracts are being created and taxable events are taking place. Tax teams must keep pace with developments,” Ernst & Young commented in a 2022 report.
“There is a growing expectation that individuals will be using the metaverse daily within just five years. To ensure the metaverse economy is a success, companies and governments must ensure tax, law and regulation work together to reduce high levels of uncertainty and complexity,” it said further.
Deloitte came up with its observation on the impact of the metaverse on the Asian economy. It stated that the metaverse’s contribution to the gross domestic product in the region could be between USD 800 billion and USD 1.4 trillion per year by 2035.
That would make up roughly 1.3% to 2.4% of overall GDP, the report added (as reported by CNBC), assuming that there are “sustained technology investments made in the next five to ten years.”
There are 1.3 billion mobile gamers in Asia, making up the world’s largest player base, the report said.
“The metaverse is no longer science fiction. Early metaverse platforms are already being used by millions,” it wrote.
Duleesha Kulasooriya, Deloitte Center for the Edge’s managing director in Southeast Asia, attributed the size of the forecast impact to the “demographic gravity” of the region.
“If you look at the youths, they’re are the ones who are interacting and engaging in the metaverse mostly today, and 60% of the world’s youths live in Asia,” he said.
Gaming is “one of the early ways” in which one is introduced to the metaverse, Kulasooriya concluded.