The metaverse could be a hot sub-sector of the digital asset industry worth watching in 2022, and according to Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, the crypto space could give it an added boost.
The metaverse is already garnering more interest from investors, and that only increased tenfold when Facebook decided to change its name to “Meta.” The social media giant is looking at creating online communities that are a part of an even bigger virtual universe.
“3D spaces in the metaverse will let you socialize, learn, collaborate and play in ways that go beyond what we can imagine,” notes the Meta website.
How does the crypto space feed into all of this? Since the metaverse incorporates blockchain technology, crypto development talent can help build out metaverse projects.
Solana in particular is using its own blockchain ecosystem to maybe one day supplant Ethereum by discerning itself as being more cost-efficient and faster when it comes to processing transactions. Ethereum already hosts metaverses — Sandbox and Decentraland — where cryptocurrencies are used.
“Every virtual economy needs money. Cryptocurrencies work like virtual cash in virtual worlds,” a Motley Fool article explains.
Yakovenko sees an alternative where there won’t be separate metaverses operating exclusively, but interchangeably so different metaverses can be linked. It would be similar to blockchain ecosystems interacting with one another to form a larger, cohesive unit.
“Once that happens, it’s not going to be like a single metaverse Sandbox, it is going to be a bunch of small ones that all kind of work together and a bunch of experiences,” Yakovenko said.
Right Time for Metaverse ETF
In these virtual worlds, investors are already snatching up digital real estate. Just recently, metaverse projects sold for over $100 million — given this massive investment potential, it only makes sense that the exchange traded fund (ETF) industry gets in on the action, and it has.
ETF investors can look to opportunities like the Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF (META). The fund tracks the Ball Metaverse Index, which is the first index globally designed to track the performance of the metaverse via globally-listed companies operating in the space.
According to a Business Insider article, demand for the ETF surged since its inception, growing from a grubstake of a few million dollars on June 30 to over $820 million. That’s an increase of close to 600% in under six months.
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