Introduction:
There has been a recent re-emergence of the term metaverse on the internet because Facebook intends to change its name to Meta and thereby attempt to incorporate itself within the metaverse. The idea behind Facebook’s name change is to form a virtual reality platform for its social media users. It must be mentioned that the idea is not completely new and there have been several projects that have engaged in several metaverse cryptocurrency projects before. However, the essential difference lies in the fact that none of these were being controlled by a singular entity that Facebook or Meta is doing. This contributes towards a less decentralized form of system. Because Meta has centralized the entire cryptosystem under one umbrella, humongous funds have been pouring in from all sources of the Internet ever since. The reason behind this would primarily be that for the first time digital cryptocurrencies are being paired with blockchain technology and social media platforms which function through virtual reality. This has helped Meta to have the final say in the way things run and are functioning within the Metaverse.
The question which naturally arises is that why are these platforms so popular among their users? The reason is that Meta and virtual reality allow the users to be whoever they want on the Internet and do whatever they want to do within the metaverse. The entire gamut of possibilities becomes enlarged and something as popular and big as Facebook recognizing this is the ultimate step towards the next revolution in terms of social media.
Meta Vs Decentralised Metaverse
There have been problems rising with Facebook’s decision as well. People have understood that Facebook did not just go through a simple name change but also a couple of functional changes as well. The biggest of this would be giving its users an illusion that they are in charge of how the platform works but instead, integrating the entire control under their own rule. A couple of reasons why people have despised Facebook’s decision to go Meta is because it still would have a singular entity running everything as they had done before and this centralized power system only spreads more and more discontent amongst its users. Facebook claiming that they are Meta and are a part of the metaverse only creates an illusion of power for its users because in reality Facebook neither allows you to decide what it would look like under the virtual reality platform nor does it allow the time spent on the platform. Whereas, comparatively, the more autonomous decentralized forms of virtual reality give its users the same kind of choices. This allows its users to have the freedom to bring up their suggestions and vote on proposals to have a say in how the system would and should look. The developing company is not supposed to have the final decision, its users should. This is exactly what metaverse needs to preach. Behemoths like Facebook cannot alter the system of power allocation by taking over the reins of control. When the system of Virtual Reality is going to be combined with blockchain technology, it is meant to change the entire game of who holds control for the future.
Metaverse crypto-list to invest upon:
These are the three options for the top cryptocurrency in 2021 that could be invested in as the world of decentralized virtual reality has a kickstart.
● Decentraland (MANA)
It is one of the more known metaverse crypto existing in the market as it has been around for quite some time now. The Decentraland (MANA) is a virtual reality social media platform that incorporated both blockchain technology as well as the social aspect of virtual reality to form a completely fair and transparent functioning of the metaverse project. The platform has its metaverse cryptocurrency called the MANA which helps in the creation of an economy that is self-dependent and not just restricted within the confines of the social media platform. It helps in creating an effortless transition into the real sphere which helps in garnering a real income for its consumer base. The users have the liberty of making their avatars and expressing themselves in terms of who they wanna be, they can also visit virtual spaces like other parts of the world or simply visit casinos and indulge in playing shared games over the virtual space with other users. The users can stand to earn real money within the platform by doing transactions such as selling or buying land that is destined for auctions. They could also carry out transactions of nonfungible tokens of products that are featured on Decentraland’s virtual marketplace of MANA.
● The Sandbox (SAND)
It is almost similar to Decentraland and it s a metaverse project where users can carry out transactions in terms of selling and buying products like real estate and land to earn real money. Sandbox also provides its users the opportunity of interacting with other members in real-time while they are embarked upon their quest of enjoying the virtual journey together. What is perhaps striking about the Sandbox is its stellar list of sponsors and partners that are determined to encourage user interactions and thereby increase user engagement. This list includes big names like Deadmau5 and Snoop Dogg. Endorsements of this metaverse crypto are also run on renowned shows like The Walking Dead which runs advertisements for its game. The market cap of Sandbox is below 50 percent when compared to Decentraland (MANA), i.e, 2.3 billion USD. MANA is at a valuation of almost 5 billion USD which confirms its growth potential when compared to Sandbox.
● JEDSTAR DECO and GameFi
The third metaverse crypto is relatively much newer and probably encapsulates the most growth potential when compared to Sandbox and Decentraland (MANA). JEDSTAR is simultaneously a gaming finance (Game Fi) and decentralized finance company. It aims to attempt at bridging the gap between the fiat financial sectors like the USD or GBP and cryptocurrency. Their new token which is called KRED is supposed to be used in their Metaverse Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game abbreviated as the MMORPG and in their collectible card game. KRED could also e used in their gaming nonfungible token marketplace as well as in Skill Gaming which is their most recent collaboration and is deemed as the first CAAS or Currency as a Service Model in the world.
This model is meant to allow a lot more adoption of the metaverse crypto price without having to go through the entire hassle of first converting the fiats into cryptocurrency. However, the JEDSTAR team is under pressure because this metaverse crypto has the potential of growing a lot but only when it gets adopted on a larger scale. With only about 4 percent of the population investing in crypto, it has become a task to convince the rest 96% of the population to do the same.
Conclusion:
Probably out of the three cryptos listed, JEDSTAR is the only one to realize the fact that there is a consumer gap between the real currency and metaverse crypto which is causing lesser conversion of people into the crypto industry. The KRED token which has not yet been launched is touted to achieve the same. It would be interesting to watch how these metaverse cryptos pan out in the future and what valuation they come to in recent times.
