After the recent “Gold Rush” for cryptocurrency and NFTs around the world, the talk about the Metaverse has been getting hotter than ever. On top of this, Facebook even boldly decided to change its name to “Meta”, as they prepare to tackle this new business opportunity. With so many recent changes, we can gradually see that the Metaverse is approaching.
From a macro-level perspective, the concept of the Metaverse is not new at all but rather can be seen as an extension of the virtual world. Just by merely looking at science fiction stories, movies, or games, it’s clear that people have been dreaming about virtual worlds for a very long time. In addition, with every innovation in technology, we’re witnessing virtual reality gradually resembling our own reality because of innovations in 3D, VR, AR, etc. And because of the emergence of new technologies in blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFTs, virtual reality has once again caught the hearts of people around the world.
Like with any hot button issue, there are people less enthusiastic about the Metaverse because they believe that virtual reality is just another bubble like many others in history. However, to this point, I have to disagree. I have not only been closely following developments within this field but also encountered many investment opportunities to make me think otherwise. In fact, I am optimistic about the future of the Metaverse.
First of all, technologies like blockchain and 5G have elevated the standard for information transmission, calculation, and accumulation to a whole different level. Among all of this, I believe that the most important innovation is the growth in cryptocurrency and NFTs that has linked the digital and real economies together. This has greatly enabled people to engage in virtual realities in their normal, daily lives. In addition, innovations like the creation of Stablecoin and inter-blockchain applications have successfully increased the opportunities for different blockchains to intermingle. As technology improves, the world is becoming closer to the Metaverse as we speak.
Second, as our society becomes more tech-enabled, future generations will only rely more on digital realities. Because of the pandemic, we’ve observed that people utilize internet services to meet their practical needs. However, 10 years down the line, we can predict that Generation Z and α will effortlessly rely on the internet for everything. Generation Z today, although very young, already exhibit behaviors that will likely continue into the future, such as the use of avatars or digital identities, internet-based communities, etc. And going into the future, the demand for more virtual services among this demographic will only increase with time. This power will drive us closer to the emergence of the Metaverse.
We certainly can’t deny that there still remain many technological gaps today that need to be addressed for the Metaverse. However, if we went back ten years prior, it would be hard for us to imagine that there would be self-driving cars today, or even to fathom the possibility of inter-space travel. Therefore, what I’ve come to realize is this: if only humanity has a dream, there is no such thing as impossible. Today, we are standing at a transition point in history. Now, are you ready to jump into the Metaverse?
