The metaverse has gotten a lot of attention over the past year, and rightfully so. Still, in its earliest form, the metaverse, or the idea of the metaverse, has already begun disrupting traditional businesses. From fortune 500 companies to up-and-coming content creators, the metaverse is changing the game.
What are the Big Metaverse Projects?
Metaverse projects have grown exponentially over the past 365 days, with some of the largest ones seeing hundreds of millions of dollars flowing in. With the early stage metaverses are currently in, people are coming at the problems from different angles.
One of the largest projects that has gained lots of attention is Sandbox (SAND). Sandbox is a metaverse project with digital land. After purchasing your very own digital land, You can choose what you would like to do with it. From building a metaverse business to renting your land, the possibilities are endless. Sandbox has drawn attention due to the large number of corporations purchasing land, including names like Tesla, Roblox and Atari among others.
OM metaverse is currently in development but has an extremely interesting concept, making it unique from others. It is being developed by a CryptoPunk NFT holder as virtual cities/towns. Land is not scarce and the barrier to entry will presumably be much lower than other projects.
With the biggest emphasis being put on decentralization and scale, and being built by a prominent member of the NFT community, this project will be well-positioned to be very popular.
A slightly different approach is being taken by Cavrnus, a platform that empowers corporations and creators alike to design and build their own metaverse. With top-notch VR avatar movements and AR features tying the metaverse to the physical world, things could get interesting. Features like video and audio feeds inside the metaverse are expected to be major draws for corporations building teams and worlds of their own.
Metaverse Projects Disrupting Traditional Businesses
The majority of businesses globally have expressed interest in the metaverse, from Visa and Mastercard to Taco Bell and Coachella. These companies recognize the disruptive nature of this technology and these concepts, and nobody wants to get left behind.
Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, is one of the first that come to mind. Compared to popular and high end physical brands, the Bored Apes demand exclusivity by only allowing holders to purchase their clothing and merchandise. Earning royalties whenever an NFT is transacted earns the founders millions of dollars monthly, on top of their exclusive and limited merchandise sales.
Using smart contracts on the blockchain, SHOPX is another brand driving innovation. Helping corporations and small businesses dive into the web3 world via non fungible tokens. Using NFTs paired with physical items assists in supply chain data, reducing fraud and counterfeits, lowering customer acquisition cost and even adding an additional revenue stream. NFTs offer many ways for companies to cut costs, increase revenue and strengthen customer loyalty.
Fashion is a surprising area the metaverse has been hot in, with big names like Dolce & Gabbana and Tommy Hilfiger participating in Decentralands Metaverse Fashion week recently. Gap has introduced an NFT project partnering with the Bored Apes Yacht Club, but the big disruptor? RTFKT incorporated, recently acquired by Nike.
They operate a metaverse shoe company that has gained lots of popularity. Nike was the first major public company to acquire a large metaverse project, and are rumored to have paid millions of dollars to the founders of the project.
How Content Creators Can Get Involved
The metaverse might be a multi-billion dollar industry already, but that doesn't mean it’s only for the billion-dollar corporations. NFTs and the metaverse present a unique opportunity for anybody with internet access to get involved in web3.
Investing in metaverse projects is fairly straightforward. Some operate using cryptocurrencies as currency and some operate using NFTs. Oftentimes if you are purchasing land, this costs cryptocurrency and is exchanged for the land. After purchasing cryptocurrency and transferring it to your wallet, you are able to use that to purchase land and begin your journey.
Other projects require an NFT to enter the metaverse or game. This is a popular way to gain access to the virtual realms you plan to explore. After purchasing the NFT, often on an exchange like OpenSea, you can load into the metaverse after connecting your wallet. NFTs allow different levels of access as well as the ability to earn in-game assets that transfer to real-world value and can be traded by the owner.
NFT projects, similar to the Bored Apes, are one of the most common ways to enter the web3 space due to the low barrier of entry. Building a community around your NFTs and theme often leads to a large and passionate audience, often translating to revenue via NFT sales and royalties. Some interesting projects to look at include World of Women, Shiba Shelter and Gay Aliens Society.
World of Women was created around the idea of women inclusion and equality within web3. An idea worth getting behind, as they reinvest to support smaller artists as well as offer educational and entertaining content based on women being involved in web3. Similar to the Apes, this was one of the earlier profile picture projects and caught traction quickly due to the great vision behind it.
Shiba Shelter, a collection of a few thousand shelter dog NFTs. A percent of original sales went directly to animal shelters as well as a third of royalty revenue every month. The community is built around a love of animals and dogs, as well as helping out underserved animal shelters that the community votes on and chooses.
Other projects, like Gay Aliens Society, are drawing value from the potential for a TV show or movie. The cool-looking aliens are based on zodiac traits and provide access to owner-only events. Holders will have the chance to receive revenue via royalties if their NFT is chosen for a role in the film. Characters being drafted into films is a major new revenue stream available for people, with the chance to own a popular movie/tv character in the future.
This new phenomenon, known as the metaverse, has introduced many ways for everyone to get involved in the web3 space. With anyone from multi-billion dollar corporations to beginner entrepreneurs jumping into the space, and billions of dollars expected to flow into the industry, just about everybody should be exploring the metaverse.