Metaverse coins are cryptocurrencies that could benefit from the megatrend around VR and AR worlds.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sees great potential in the Metaverse. He’s not alone in that. A number of Metaverse coins could benefit from what many experts believe to be the future of the internet.
Metaverse has gained broader public attention since Zuckerberg renamed his company Meta. Everyone is talking about the Metaverse today – the merging of physical and digital realms. The change of name thus had another effect: it caused the prices of Metaverse coins such as Decentraland (with the abbreviation MANA) and other cryptocurrencies focused on the Metaverse to skyrocket. What is behind the metaverse megatrend, which metaverse coins benefit from – and where can you buy metaverse coins?
What is Metaverse, anyway?
The term metaverse originally came from science fiction author Neal Stephenson. In his 1992 novel Snow Crash, he describes the Metaverse as a virtual world where the protagonists go to escape the real world. With augmented reality glasses, they enter the Metaverse – but at the same time, they remain in real life. In the novel, the Metaverse connects the physical world with the virtual world (virtual reality) and augmented reality (augmented reality) in the form of a unified online world.
When large corporations talk about the Metaverse today, it is often unclear what exactly is meant by it. Firstly, there are technologies that are already on the market – such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). On the other hand, there are also visions such as holograms, which so far only work in the elaborate presentations of companies. And finally, there are very different ideas about what this human-centric, livable Internet could look like in the future.
According to experts, however, there is considerable economic potential in the Metaverse. By 2024, analysts from Boston Consulting estimate that global sales in the AR and VR industry could increase from $30.7 billion (EUR 27.4 billion) in 2021 to around $269.9 billion.
Metaverse cryptocoins: The list is growing
In the Metaverse, users should shop, play, communicate and attend concerts or meetings. Facebook has announced that it will invest a lot of capital here. And that has caused the prices of Metaverse tokens and gaming coins to explode.
Metaverse cryptocurrencies are crypto projects that are developing a Metaverse themselves. Because in all likelihood there will not be just one metaverse, but many different ones that can be connected in different ways. Numerous metaverse and gaming tokens are based on the Ethereum blockchain – such as MANA, SAND and ENJ. If the corresponding projects go well, the Ethereum also drives up. Examples of Metaverse coins are:
Decentraland (MANA)
When Facebook CEO Zuckerberg unveiled his plans for the Metaverse, one cryptocurrency skyrocketed, in particular. It’s the Metaverse coin MANA, an Ethereum blockchain-based token from the virtual reality platform Decentraland. The project describes itself as the first fully decentralized world. The developers have created a “Second Life”-like environment in which players can move freely using their avatar. The metaverse coin MANA is used for buying and selling virtual real estate in the blockchain-based online world. After the Facebook presentation, the price of MANA quadrupled within a very short time.
The Sandbox (SAND)
The gaming token SAND also benefited, because Sandbox is also one of the hot candidates who could benefit enormously from the Metaverse hype in the future. The Sandbox is a virtual world where artists, creators and gamers have the opportunity to build a platform of their own imagination.
SAND is the metaverse token used throughout the sandbox ecosystem as the basis for transactions and interactions. It is an ERC-20 utility token based on the Ethereum blockchain. There is a finite supply of 3,000,000,000 SAND. Some prominent names like Atari, The Walking Dead, or Snoop Dogg have already landed in the Metaverse on Sandbox. Well-known NFT projects are also planning to use Sandbox to present their virtual works of art in a new form by creating 3D animated avatars from the NFTs and integrating them into Sandbox.
Enjin Coin (ENJ)
The price of the Enjin Coin also rose sharply recently. Founded in 2009, Enjin’s 20-country development team is building its own Metaverse. The blockchain project Efinity, which is based on Polkadot, claims to create a product ecosystem that will help humanity create advanced virtual economies through the power of blockchain technology. In late 2021, Enjin announced a $100 million Metaverse fund for Efinity. This fund is designed to support the partners and organizations involved in developing the Metaverse system.
UFO Gaming (UFO)
Billing itself as the Dark Metaverse, UFO Gaming is a fully decentralized gaming platform that connects traditional games to the blockchain and gives players the opportunity to earn as they play. UFO is the Dark Metaverse’s primary utility token. Every game launched in the Dark Metaverse is said to have its own planet, the first being Super Galactic.
The UFO network does not want to be limited to a blockchain. The developers plan to make the Dark Metaverse a Metaverse found on a whole host of other blockchains. This is to be achieved by launching new games on partner chains. As more games are added, the value of the native UFO coin and the entire ecosystem increases faster.
Axie Infinity (AXS)
The concept of Axie Infinity is also play-to-earn as gamers can earn money while playing. Axie Infinity is known as one of the most popular blockchain games, and, according to its own statements, the number one among Ethereum games – measured by daily, weekly, and monthly active users. It has generated more than 13,000 ETH in revenue ($16 million) so far.
While a fun game, Axie has also taken on the characteristics of a social network and job platform because of the strong community and earning potential. The Metaverse coin Axie Infinity Coin (AXS) is an ERC-20 governance token. AXS token holders can participate in voting on the future development of the game – and benefit from price development in the process.
Where to buy Metaverse cryptocurrencies?
In addition to Bitcoin, you can also buy the alternative coins Ethereum (ETH) and Polkadot (DOT) from providers such as Justtrade, which also benefit from the Metaverse hype. The Metaverse coins mentioned here are not yet available for purchase.
The range of cryptocurrencies at eToro, on the other hand, is far larger. In addition to ETH and DOT, you can also buy the Metaverse coins Decentraland (MANA), Enjin (ENJ), and Axie Infinity (AXS) at eToro.
Metaverse coins forecast
How will Metaverse coin prices develop? Large corporations such as Microsoft or Facebook see enormous potential in the Metaverse – and invest a lot of money here. This drives the prices of the Metaverse coins. However, it is not yet clear which Metaverse coins will actually prevail and which ones will eventually disappear. Cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments.