The Metaverse is an online, virtual universe with limitless possibilities and opportunities. This 3D world allows people to connect, socialize, work, play, and even earn an income. Some dub it the new era of the internet, which is why so many industries and businesses are setting a foothold in it as we speak.
Recently, decentralized finance (DeFi) projects are also dipping their toes into the Metaverse. They have chosen an intriguing path that combines entertaining gaming with earning chances and NFTs. In other words, they seek to help users gain real rewards while exploring new and fascinating virtual worlds.
This article discusses the most promising DeFi projects going into the Metaverse.
The DeFi Yield Protocol (DYP)
DeFi Yield Protocol (DYP) is a decentralized ecosystem integrating numerous DeFi tools and services, including yield farming, staking, NFTs, and Metaverse gaming. The project operates on unique smart contracts and employs DYP’s proprietary anti-manipulation functionality.
One of DYP’s most ambitious initiatives is its Metaverse platform, which will incorporate a play-to-earn game and a frontier-less virtual world. The developers recently posted a sneak peek into this Metaverse world, which they dub “the place where you can shape the future.”
People will be able to use a VR headset to connect to this blockchain-based, Metaverse RPG game. The immersive mining, play-to-earn gameplay boasts a feature-rich design enabling players to explore through endless mines and hunt for rewards, special items, and digital currency. Moreover, they can interact with Cats and Watches Society (CAWS) NFTs, boost their levels, or use their DYP / iDYP tokens for game-related purposes.
CAWS is a unique NFT collection of cool-looking cats wearing expensive watches. These assets possess more than 200 unique attributes each, including watch preferences and personality traits. Anyone can play the upcoming DYP's Metaverse game. However, players enjoy more benefits if they also own a CAWS NFT. For example, their cat NFT can help them during hunts and other challenges.
The project’s rapid development does not stop here. The DeFi Yield Protocol (DYP) is constantly improving its long list of DYP tools, which include a launchpad, a DYP token locker on Uniswap, and a pair explorer. According to a recent Twitter post, the platform also provides an informative news section where users can stay up-to-date with the latest info in the cryptosphere.
DYP is a growing presence in the DeFi sector, and its immersion into the Metaverse will increase its popularity. The project is listed on several industry-leading exchanges, including Coinbase, Huobi Global, and MEXC.
Otherside
The next DeFi project on our list comes from one of the most successful NFT series, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). The famous collection launched in April 2021, boasting 10,000 ape-like, algorithmically generated, and expensive NFTs. Its creators, Yuga Labs, are now diving into the Metaverse with an interactive game, Otherside, which will use ApeCoin ($APE) as its primary currency.
Otherside will be an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) running as an expansion of the BAYC ecosystem. Yuga Labs raised $450 million to build and integrate it with web3-enabled virtual worlds. Notably, gamers can transform their NFTs into playable characters and interact with over 10,000 players in real time.
The game will be jam-packed with multiplayer features, available via Improbable’s M2 technology. Moreover, it will use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to provide immersive gameplay and generous bandwidth. For instance, the developers expect Otherside to handle over 500 million operations per second.
Like most Metaverse projects, Otherside will offer plots of virtual land for sale. The game will feature 100,000 unique land plots, also known as Otherdeeds. On April 30, Yuga Labs sold 55,000 Otherdeeds at 305 $APE each or roughly $6,100 at that time. Meanwhile, the team reserved the remaining 45,000 plot lands for Bored Ape NFT holders, Yuga Labs employees, and partners.
Interestingly, Yuga Labs partnered with Animoca Brands to develop Otherside. The Hong Kong-based company is the developer behind another popular Metaverse game, The Sandbox. The collaboration could spark the integration between the two Metaverses, even if there’s no official announcement regarding it at the time of writing.
Real Estate Investment Club
Real Estate Investment Club (REIC) is an NFT collection expanding into the Metaverse with MetaCity, a real estate-oriented game. Its developers include expert developers in the gaming industry who have worked on popular games like GTA and Red Dead Redemption. They plan to build a Metaverse-as-a-Service (MaaS) virtual city running on its own in-game economy.
REIC NFT holders can become REIC members and access MetaCity’s Digital Asset Property Group (DAPG). This feature enables them to monetize their assets, hold and trade tokenized real estate with blockchain-based ownership.
Additionally, NFT holders can access giveaways, such as REIC avatars and merchandise, NFT airdrops, and investment advice. Moreover, they can attend real-world events, webinars, seminars, and holidays in premium locations. The first private event for REIC members will take place in Edinburgh sometime in 2022.
Metacity will be a high-definition gamified Metaverse running on Unreal Engine 5, the same underlying technology of the popular game Fortnite. As a result, it will feature lifelike animations, polished graphics, and engaging game modules.
The REIC developers aim to provide the necessary infrastructure for a growing crypto community interested in real estate investments. To this end, their Metaverse project will also offer educational services in this field. Their REIC HQ feature, a virtual building at the center of MetaCity, will regularly host meetups, investment opportunities, workshops, and lectures from real estate experts.
The first REIC NFTs should see the light of day in September 2022. The development team will launch various giveaways for this occasion. One of them is an Ethereum down payment contribution for the users’ first real estate investments.
Souls of Nature
Souls of Nature (SoN) is among the latest projects to reveal their intentions of going into the Metaverse. This initiative features a gamified Metaverse with tradeable NFTs running on the advanced Unreal Engine. Moreover, it invites players on the noble mission of saving endangered wildlife and their habitats.
Souls of Nature boasts a 9,721 NFT collection enabling holders to be "re-born" into an animal soul and participate in experience-to-earn activities. The SoN Metaverse challenges them to rescue an endangered world and collect rewards. In return, the project donates a percentage of the initial collection funding to help protect ecosystems facing extinction worldwide.
The project developers, Metazooie Studios, claim Souls of Nature will be the first fully-immersive HD Metaverse once it comes out in Q3 of 2023. The Unreal Engine technology should help them build a scaling player experience and user-friendly platform with increasingly more features. To this end, they will retain 7% of royalties on a secondary market to enhance the Metaverse in-game experience.
Every SoN NFT will be a unique character with upgradeable traits in this Metaverse. Holders will be able to engage through them in different game modes. Alternatively, they can trade them in the platform’s proprietary NFT marketplace. The team has not announced a minting date. However, it mentioned that anyone will be able to join the game from their browsers.
Lastly, Souls of Nature should develop into an all-encompassing Metaverse, using decentralized finance and cryptocurrencies. The $ZOOIE token will fuel most of its operations and support NFT trading operations. Metazooie Studios is a Mexico-based design studio specializing in web3 Metaverse gaming development.
