The Metaverse obscures the lines between physical and digital. As part of the next iteration of web3, the metaverse has the potential to transform our lives in many ways.
Similar to the way internet accessibility transformed our daily lives, the metaverse is poised to be a transformative force in the way we work, live, connect, and collaborate. While it’s still early in its development, investors are rapidly pouring money to turn this concept to fruition. In December 2021, Facebook famously rebranded itself as Meta, with CEO Mark Zuckerburg openly discussing his “fairly far-future vision”.
So with the metaverse knocking at our doorstep – and a few big players ready to answer and bring the concept to reality – what are some of the potential hurdles it must overcome before we can reap the rewards and create greater investment opportunities for future generations?
Potential Risks Of The Metaverse
Widespread adoption of a metaverse doesn’t come without hurdles. When we talk about the Metaverse disrupting and transforming industries from eCommerce to education, we also need to consider some of the other implications and risks.
To many, the move to Meta might seem frivolous and unnecessary. “If it’s not broken, why fix it?”
However, embracing the Metaverse is inextricably tied to dumping whatever precedes it (web 2) and means that it must offer something significantly better in order to sway consumers. Developers will have to ask what are the common, and not so common, pain points for consumers, and be able to create a platform that addresses their needs and desires.
Additionally, if the Metaverse is going to transform our lives across a wide range of industries – there’s going to be an urgent need to reskill a large part of the workforce. Investors will need to build a roadmap to make sure that surfing the metaverse is ethical, safe, and inclusive. This likely means addressing issues such as ethics, cyber and physical safety, data privacy, security, and sustainability.
We also might consider the ethical implications. Just as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter slowly infiltrated user’s lives over time by somewhat questionable means, the metaverse will also likely come with some broader impacts. What are the implications of increased time in digital worlds? More screen time? Identifying with online avatars and digital worlds, only to somehow disassociate from our own.
Investment Opportunities
When many people think metaverse, they see a virtual world where their avatars drive digital cars, and earn crypto to buy NFT art to display in their digital homes. Many of these concepts are already used in gaming.
Here are some other metaverse related highlights we’ve seen in recent months:
- TIME magazine covered August’s issue with a zoom in on the Metaverse, and titled it ‘Into the Metaverse: The Next Digital Era Will Change Everything.’
- Shanghai allocated a $1.5B Metaverse Development Fund.
- Dubai released their Metaverse plan, intending to add 40,000 virtual jobs and boost GDP by $4B
However, it’s likely that the initial applications of the metaverse are likely to be focused in the eCommerce sector as a new sales channel due to the consumer experience in the space becoming more complex and demanding. The metaverse is undoubtedly an opportunity to diversify sales by proposing new products or services. Unlike traditional channels, these are entirely virtual products whose ownership can be guaranteed by an NFT. Take Nike for example, who sold a virtual sneaker for $130,000.
Sneakers aside, by 2030, the metaverse could generate up to US$5 trillion across all sectors – according to an extensive report by McKinsey & Company. With eCommerce set to generate between US$2 trillion and US$2.6 trillion by 2030, and dwarf sectors such as advertising (US$144 billion-US$206 billion), and gaming (US$108 billion-US$125 billion). This is a sizable opportunity by any standards, and will likely bring about a rise in digital assets, new technologies, and investments from the private sector. So keep an eye on these spaces.
Do Your Research
At Think10, we’re committed to providing forward-thinking entrepreneurs and investors with the support that you need for long-term success as we move towards reality in the metaverse. We take an informed and reasonable approach to investment, supporting all stages of start-up growth and always thinking ten steps ahead. If you want to learn more about the nature of the Cryptocurrency Market, blockchain technology, and web3 news –contact us today.
