Metaverse from Facebook has Begun- 3 Coins to Watch

Facebook, and parent company, Meta, have been in the media a lot lately.  While not all of the headlines have been good, a recent one that announced the company’s mega investment of $10 billion into creating “the metaverse” should pique the curiosity of crypto communities around the world. 

Metaverse is more than a new buzzword, and it is not unique to Facebook.  Microsoft is another industry titan trying to lay its own claim to this so-called metaverse. They may, in fact, be leading the charge considering how Microsoft has already adapted several technologies currently used in these environments.

What is a metaverse? 

The term was first used in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 science fiction novel, "Snow Crash."  In it, Stephenson hatched the term when he described avatars who would connect and congregate in 3D buildings and other virtual reality environments.  In our world, metaverses are best defined as digital universes that people access with a virtual reality headset. This allows them to work and play in an imaginary, digital realm.  It’s virtual reality at its finest.

Here’s where it gets interesting – the leading members of the technology brain trust are convinced that the metaverse represents the future of the internet, and it’s rapidly evolving.  With metaverses making more strides into becoming a reality, we are learning that to truly become fully immersive worlds with their own economies, they need to have a form of currency.

That’s where digital assets come into play as they are often paired with blockchain VR social platforms. This is so that people can buy items within the game, such as land, weapons, or other items that can be traded with other players. 

Top 3 Cryptocurrencies for Metaverses

Here are three of the top cryptocurrencies well positioned to serve as the economic backbone of future metaverses:

SAND

The Sandbox is a virtual world (metaverse) where players can build, own, and monetise their gaming experiences in the Ethereum blockchain using the platform’s token, (SAND).  SAND has a current market cap of over $2 billion and the Hong Kong-based gaming platform very recently raised $93 million from SoftBank. SoftBank is apparently committed to watching Sandbox further expand its digital world.

Decentraland

Decentraland is another blockchain-based metaverse powered by the ETH blockchain.  Here, users can purchase plots of digital real estate called "LAND.”  Users are then able to buy plots of LAND using the metaverse’s in-game cryptocurrency token, (MANA).  Users can both purchase LAND in this metaverse as well as use their MANA tokens to pay for in-world goods and services.  At present, MANA has a market cap of over $4 billion and since trading at around $0.08 this past January, MANA has shot up to $3.18 today.

Enjin

The self-proclaimed “largest gaming community platform” currently boasts more than 250,000 gaming communities and more than 18 million registered players.  The Enjin Coin (ENJ) is an Ethereum-based coin with a market cap of almost $3 billion.  The main use case for Enjin is creating ENJ backed assets that can be accessed in games.  For example, developers can create items such as weapons, and back them with a certain amount of ENJ coins.