Cryptocurrencies related to the metaverse (a shared virtual and continuous universe) experienced impressive gains on the last day due to the Facebook announcement that will be renamed Meta, with the mission of “bringing the metaverse to life”.
MANA, the Decentraland token, led the pack, with gains of more than 60% in the last 24 hours, bringing its price to $1.36.
The Sandbox project’s SAND token rose 22% to $1.10, while Enjin Coin (ENJ) made more modest gains of 8% to $2.50.
Tokens linked to the metaverse, such as AXS, the foundation of the game of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) Axie Infinity, and FLOW, the blockchain token of the same name, created for NFTs, had gains of 16% and (US$146.80) and 10% ($13.95), respectively, in the last 24 hours.
What is the Metaverse?
Originally coined by Neal Stephenson in the 1992 novel “Snow Crash”, the term “Metaverse” describes a continuous virtual universe in which users interact with each other with digital avatars.
These online and shared spaces can be used for social interaction, games and even work.
More fictional descriptions of the metaverse, such as the 2018 movie “Player #1” also imagine users accessing it through virtual and augmented reality devices.
Currently, many metaverse-related platforms, such as Decentraland, can be visited using an ordinary computer.
Advocates of cryptocurrencies regard the metaverse as a perfect use case for crypto, where NFTs allow users of the metaverse to gain governance of digital objects such as avatar clothing and in-game land lots.
In the future, users will be able to migrate digital objects between metaverse platforms. A user can, for example, buy clothes in NFT on one platform (in Decentraland) and migrate them to another (The Sandbox).
Announcing @Goal — the Facebook company’s new name. Meta is helping to build the metaverse, the place where we’ll play and connect in 3D. Welcome to the next chapter of social connection. pic.twitter.com/ywSJPLsCoD
— Goal (@Goal) October 28, 2021
Facebook’s redesign for Meta is part of a sweeping realignment of the company to the metaverse. In September, it announced an investment of US$50 million in initiatives and partnerships related to the metaverse.
In yesterday’s announcement (28), CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that “the metaverse is the next frontier, as is social media at the beginning”.
As part of its redesign, Facebook has stated that the company will support NFTs, as said by Vishal Shah, director of metaverse products, that Meta is “exploring new types of governance, models and rights to ensure people feel confidence that they really own something”.
Shan added, “This will make it easier for people to sell limited edition digital objects like NFTs, display them in their digital sectors and even resell them to the next person in a secure way.”
*Translated and edited by Daniela Pereira do Nascimento with permission from Decrypt.co.