What Is the Metaverse?
First coined by Neal Stephenson in 1992, the term ‘metaverse’ refers to the idea of a virtual world that mimics the real world. The first half of this compound, ‘meta’, means ‘beyond’, and the latter, ‘verse’, is short for ‘universe’. Together, it’s the idea of a 3D internet, where users can step into a different world with their avatars.
In the Metaverse that exists today, users can teleport to different locations, meet friends, attend events, play games, and create user-generated content. They can also trade their lands, buildings, clothing, art, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and any other items by using specific tokens.
Characteristics of the Metaverse:
- Borderless — Anyone can access the Metaverse regardless of geographical location, background, or demographic. It’s an endless space that can be built upon.
- Decentralised — The Metaverse is built on top of blockchain technology. This means that no single entity owns the Metaverse, and all users have control over their data.
- Use of Cryptocurrency — Various tokens can be used for transactions in the Metaverse. All of these transactions are also recorded on the underlying blockchain.
