The future potential of the metaverse are apparently endless, but is there anything you can accomplish in the metaverse right now? 

The metaverse is often couched in such futuristic terms that it’s difficult to understand how you can get involved in it today. But, in reality, metaverse-like worlds have existed for decades, and you may have previously encountered some of them without even realising it. 

What is the metaverse again? 

The metaverse, based on venture capitalist Matthew Ball's theory, is a permanent online universe that blurs the barriers between reality and virtual reality. The metaverse is a 24/7 online environment populated by economics that reward a new network of artists and infrastructure providers. It is far more than a Call of Duty match. Importantly, this economy is based on interoperable in-game assets. This approach deviates significantly from the "walled gardens" – closed ecosystems – that we're accustomed to; Ball gives the example of a skin for a Counter-Strike pistol that could easily be translated into a decoration for a Fortnite weapon. 

While Mark Zuckerberg's Meta (previously Facebook) has its own ideas for the metaverse, the cryptocurrency industry believes blockchain technology is ideal for this innovative online realm. Crypto games such as The Sandbox and Decentraland provide early glimpses of how a creator-led, crypto- and NFT-powered economy might operate. So, here's what you can do today in the metaverse. 

In virtual worlds, you can create, explore, and play. 

For the greater part of a decade, games like Minecraft and Roblox have been giving metaverse-type experiences; Second Life and Eve Online have been active since 2003, and World of Warcraft debuted in 2004. 

Second Life, with its creator-led economy and enormous sandbox environment, is one of the closest metaverse analogues. In Second Life, you can do whatever you want, and some people have been documented spending their whole lives in the game, living off the virtual land, harvesting the game's in-game currency, Linden dollars, and attending events. 

Crypto games like The Sandbox and Decentraland are turning the videogame economy on its head in the 2020s by introducing digital assets into the mix. You can not only import your own non-fungible tokens (NFT) into the games to purchase virtual land, but you can also utilise the games' fungible governance tokens to change the parameters of the virtual environment you'll inhabit, explore, and develop in. 

Both are powered by cryptocurrencies: The Sandbox employs fungible SAND tokens as in-game currency and NFTs to represent parcels of land and other game-native goods, like as assets that beautify your avatar, whilst Decentraland uses fungible MANA tokens and comparable non-fungibles for virtual assets. 

You only need to connect a crypto wallet, such as MetaMask, to establish accounts. However, with Decentraland, you can play as a guest without connecting a crypto wallet. The Sandbox is technically in alpha (testing), and the first season has ended, therefore you won't be able to play it until Alpha Season 2 is launched, the date of which has yet to be determined. 

Aside from the crypto-economics, these games are just like any other sandbox game. You may walk around the games’ respective virtual worlds, hanging out with the businesses and celebrities that are vying to corner the market. You may roam around virtual locations like retail malls, art galleries, and plazas and talk to others, play games, build houses, and attend events. Decentraland even hosts its own music festivals. Unfortunately, despite advances in computer game visuals, many of the current games seem little better than Second Life did in 2003. But, at least in theory, the magic is in the bonds you can form with your virtual brethren. 

Meet individuals from all across the world for job or enjoyment. 

There are numerous hangout spots in the metaverse. While large open worlds like The Sandbox and Decentraland are great places to congregate, you may also experiment with custom-built rooms on platforms like Spatial. These apps are designed specifically for events, conferences, and meetings. Spatial can be accessed with a Web 2 login, such as Google, or a Web 3 login, such as MetaMask. Spatial's virtual worlds are divided into rooms, which you can visit or construct yourself. NFTs are supported by Spatial's galleries. Spatial's world can be explored via mobile, Steam, a browser, or an Oculus VR headset. 

Virtual reality excels at one of Ball's metaverse criteria: presence. Put on a virtual reality headset, such as an HTC Vive, Valve Index, or Meta (previously Oculus) Quest, and enter cyberspace. Meta (previously Facebook) is developing a social hub for its VR headsets, and Steam's VR software comes with a virtual house preinstalled. Games like VR Chat pre-dated bitcoin, and allow you to visit rooms full of other individuals using VR headsets, dressed in whichever avatar they desire. 

Companies such as MetaHub are establishing virtual hangout areas for conferences and corporate events, and Decentraland will organise its inaugural music festival in 2021 – though musicians have been doing so in Second Life long before it was hip. Hanging out is where the metaverse's boundaries begin to dissolve and the marketing spiel begins to disintegrate. 

Is Zoom a critical component of the metaverse due to its track record of connecting workplaces and driving a work-from-home revolution? Or, as Mark Zuckerberg highlighted in his Meta address, is it an unconvincing alternative to reality that substitutes face-to-face interaction with rows of faces on screens? 

Make a 3D avatar that resembles you... or not. 

Your avatar is an important aspect of your metaverse identity. For some, profile-image NFTs such as CryptoPunks or the Bored Ape Yacht Club are sufficient for Discord and Twitter, which are largely text-based platforms where a 2D photo suffices. For 3D environments, apps like Ready Player Me provide resizable digital identities that, according to the company, can be used in 1,330 apps and games, including Nike's RTFKT, Somnium Space, and VR Chat. You could even buy an NFT sneaker from RTFKT, or an avatar from its planned “Avatar project,” although it’s unclear which games will let you “wear” these. 

In Somnium Space, an Ethereum-based virtual reality open environment comparable to Decentraland, you can import a Ready Player Me avatar made from nothing more than a selfie. According to Ball's paradigm, this satisfies the interoperability criterion - the ability to carry your digital assets with you regardless of which platform or software you are using. 

Invest in virtual real estate, NFTs, or tokens. 

Of course, if you don't want to give up reality just yet, you might always invest in the popular virtual worlds. There are numerous approaches that can be taken. You may invest in NFT avatar drops, like those offered by Nike or Adidas. You may speculate on virtual land or in-game items similar to those available on Axie Infinity, Decentraland, and The Sandbox. 

You might also invest in such games' fungible tokens, which serve as in-game cash. If you're not sure which token to invest in, you could always invest in a metaverse index fund, such as Index Coop's Metaverse Index (MVI). The MVI rebalances its portfolio based on the top metaverse currencies of the day. 

If cryptocurrency isn't your thing, you could consider investing in the stock of virtual reality and metaverse companies. One firm that is betting big on the future of virtual and augmented reality is Meta; one analyst on Seeking Alpha thinks that the corporation will have invested $70 billion on the concept between 2014 and 2023. Stocks in virtual reality and the metaverse, as well as private investments, are also on the table.

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