People are buying stuff that does not actually exist. By the end of the year 2021, the Metaverse, NFT’s, and subsequently digital real estate have been all the rage. The idea was interesting and crazy to some but totally rejected by others. So, what are NFT’s? What is the Metaverse? and What is happening within this virtual world?
Courtesy of Somnuim Space
What is the Metaverse?
Broadly speaking, the technologies that make up the Metaverse include virtual reality (characterized by a permanent virtual world that continues to exist even when not playing) and augmented reality that combines aspects of the digital and physical worlds. included. However, these virtual spaces do not need to be accessed exclusively via VR or AR. Virtual worlds like the aspects of Fortnite, accessible from PCs, gaming machines, and even phones, can be “metaversal”.
Fashion Street in Decentraland. Image Courtesy of Decentraland
It also refers to a digital economy realm in which users can design, buy, and sell products. It’s also interoperable, letting you move virtual objects like clothes or cars from one platform to another, under the more idealized conceptions of the metaverse. In the real world, you can go to the mall and buy a shirt, then wear it to the movies. Most platforms already feature virtual identities, avatars, and inventories that are bound to a single platform, but a metaverse might allow you to establish a persona that you can take with you wherever you go as easily as copying your profile image from one social network to another.
What is an NFT?
There is no need to hide it, we were all puzzled by this emerging term. So, to explain, an NFT is a “non-fungible token”. “Non-fungible” basically indicates it’s one-of-a-kind and can’t be substituted with anything else. A bitcoin, for example, is fungible, meaning you can exchange one for another and get precisely the identical thing. A one-of-a-kind trade card, on the other hand, cannot be duplicated. You’d get something altogether different if you swapped it for a different card.
Fascade digital NFT, 2020. Image © Karisman
Most NFTs are, at a high level, part of the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum, like bitcoin and dogecoin, is a cryptocurrency, but its blockchain also enables these NFTs, which store additional information that allows them to function differently from, say, an ETH coin. It’s worth mentioning that various blockchains can use NFTs in their own ways.
What does NFT’s have to do with the Metaverse?
Almost every discussion of the metaverse revolves around the possibility of combining the metaverse and NFTs. Many people, on the other hand, believe that NFTs are merely another part of the larger metaverse. Indeed, NFTs and metaverse are often used interchangeably.
The fundamental rationale for such assumptions is that NFTs in the blockchain gaming industry has experienced unexpected bursts of growth. It’s realistic to assume that only virtual worlds will shape the metaverse. Interoperable games can help to propel the metaverse forward by serving virtual environments.
Furthermore, the link of real-life identities with digital avatars opens up possibilities for using NFTs to define access to the metaverse. With the instance of NFT-controlled access in 2019, the metaverse NFT token made its first appearance. The first NFT.NYC conference, held in 2019, employed an NFT-based ticket to admit attendees. Even if no one could name the conference “metaverse,” it created a positive precedent for NFT metaverse interaction.
What is Digital Real Estate?
Digital real estate is up for grabs on virtual platforms such as Decentraland and OpenSea. Both are places on the internet where consumers can now buy and sell digital assets such as music, art, fashion products, and now—real estate.
A Glimpse Inside the Digital Real Estate World
The market for digital files marketed as “nonfungible tokens,” or NFTs, has surged this year, with the most notable sale being a $69.3 million artwork by Beeple at a Christie’s online auction in March. However, virtual real estate, architecture, and design are booming as well.
Hrish Lotlikar, co-founder and CEO of SuperWorld, an augmented reality virtual environment, said that the company had already sold “thousands of properties” in 2021, with users spending an average of $2,000 on the site.
Courtesy of SuperWorld
It’s difficult to say whether virtual real estate and architecture are a passing trend or the way of the future at this point. For one thing, Mr. Fairs is intrigued by the potential. “I believe the movement is legitimate,” he remarked. “Clearly, we’re rapidly approaching a point where a virtual world can accomplish everything a physical world can do.”
If you’re puzzled by people paying real money for virtual property in a virtual environment, remember that Mars Mansion, advertised as “the world’s first NFT digital house,” just sold for 288 Ether, or $512,000.
MARS HOUSE Digital NFT. Image Courtesy of Krista Kim
Mars House was made on an iPad last spring, according to Krista Kim, a Toronto-based artist. Mars House, inspired by the calm and stylish architecture of Kyoto, Japan, was her genuine dream home: It was developed expressly for the metaverse, the word for a shared virtual place, and it was inspired by the tranquil and stylish architecture of Kyoto, Japan.
Ms. Kim was intrigued to see if Mars Property, which she offered for sale on the NFT marketplace SuperRare, would sell for the same price as a real house. When it happened, she wasn’t surprised.
Mr. Lotlikar envisions monetizing virtual real estate in the metaverse, such as by renting out billboard space to advertising or purchasing and selling houses just like in the real world. The new owner of Mars House has given Ms. Kim permission to use the virtual reality platform Spatial to open the house for public tours and private functions. “In June, we’ll have the first metaverse wedding in the Mars House,” she revealed.
So, what’s next for NFTs and real estate in the virtual world? Many people believe that this is just the beginning of how we will use the next version of the internet. Even new businesses are cropping up to support these parallel worlds, with services such as digital asset management, digital construction, and digital wealth management. Millions of fans didn’t have to miss out on actual venue tickets when Justin Bieber performed a performance earlier this month since they could just tune in to witness his virtual avatar sing his songs in the metaverse. If anything, this new reality demonstrates how our physical and digital lives will become more interwoven than ever before.
