A Metaverse is a conceptual virtual world that incorporates ideas from the Internet, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and other technologies.
It is considered the union of all the advances in the state of the art in technology, where a virtual world inhabited by real humans who use software agents, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, human/hardware interfaces and other futuristic (though real) technologies to interact with each other.
When combined with cryptocurrencies, the Metaverse concept allows for smart properties and digital entities to be linked via blockchain, creating legal links between virtual properties, items and digital personas.
The digital personas are managed by real world users who benefit from the value of virtual items and properties. All properties are registered on the blockchain via projects like Decentraland and Metaverse Blockchain.
Decentralization
Cryptocurrencies add yet another powerful digital tool to the Metaverse concept.
Decentralized digital currency allows for 100% decentralized payments to be made securely in a virtual world where real work is achieved, real commerce is performed and other real life experiences happen using the innovative new technology available today such as deep immersion VR equipment.
Metaverse Etymology
According to Wikipedia, Metaverse stands for meta universe.
The term was originally coined by author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash.
Snow Crash
In Stephenson’s novel, Metaverse is owned by a fictitious company called Global Multimedia Protocol Group which, in the novel, is part of the ACM (the real association).
In Snow Crash, people’s avatars are limited in height, to prevent users from creating ludicrous characters “a mile high”, in the author’s own words.
Decentraland
Decentraland is an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency that aims to build a Metaverse
It was announced in August 2017, when it had been under development for over a year.
The MANA token used by Decentraland allows users to build and purchase objects in the Metaverse.
Land space in the Metaverse is limited, therefore it is expected to gain value.
Virtual reality item scarcity is a key factor attracting investors to cryptocurrencies like Decentraland.
Metaverse Cryptocurrency
There is a cryptocurrency called Metaverse which was founded in 2016.
The official website describes Metaverse as:
Metaverse is an open-source public blockchain that aims to provide digital assets and digital identities. Through Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS), we make convenient, secure digital financial services accessible to all Internet applications at virtually no cost.
The Metaverse crypto is a combination of the MST token, virtual reality avatars and digital identities, oracles and on-chain exchange.
Oracles are middlemen and supervisors for virtual services.