The Metaverse and Crypto: A Beginner’s Guide

Can you imagine living inside a digital world, living your daily activities in a virtual world? This is what metaverse developers are working on.

As blockchain technology continue to advance at an accelerated rate, more and more possibilities open up, including transposing our lives into the digital universe and make the experience seamless.

Let’s take a closer about the metaverse and how you can invest in it in this article.

What is the metaverse?

The word metaverse is a portmanteau of “meta”, meaning “beyond”, and the word “universe”.

So, the metaverse is a digital universe in which people interact with each other and their environment as they would in real life.

People can socialise with one another in a virtual environment, and businesses can market themselves, or even operate, in this world.

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But that’s not all. When we talk about the metaverse, there’s also a special monetary system — specifically metaverse crypto.

This metaverse currency uses the blockchain technology to help one person transfer value to another, without needing a company or intermediary to maintain the balance sheet.

The metaverse is radically changing the way people interact in online spaces, and it is showing that digital assets have real-world value as well.

Related: Why is Facebook interested in the metaverse?

Top 3 metaverse crypto

Even though the metaverse is still in its early stages of development, a few projects have brought much attention to the world. 

According to Coinmarketcap, there are over 200 metaverse projects as of this publication. Going through them all will take ages, so let’s cut it short and focus on the top 3 metaverse crypto based on their market capitalisation in 2022.

ApeCoin (APE)

ApeCoin (APE) is the native cryptocurrency token for the Bored Ape and Mutant Ape ecosystem. On the first day of trading, ApeCoin definitely took the spotlight in the crypto space in recent weeks. At the moment, their market cap is almost at $2 billion, showing the world its supportive community of creators and investors.

ApeCoin operates on the Ethereum blockchain, and was designed to embody the future of culture, art, gaming, and entertainment through blockchain technology and community-led initiatives. Essentially a metaverse token in a nutshell.

In the middle of March 2022, Yugalabs announced one of the largest expansions in the Bored Ape NFT Universe — Otherside. 

The company stated, this project aims to build a new universe, or metaverse, that connects users to the BYAC ecosystem. Users will be able to own land in the world, transform NFTs into playable characters, and interact with more than 10,000 other people.

Further reading: What is ApeCoin (APE)?

Decentraland (MANA)

Decentraland is a 3D massively multiplayer online virtual world that is more than just a game. In Decentraland, the virtual lands are sold as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain. The owners of the land can do whatever they want with it — create content, games, virtual shops, and more.

The land in Decentraland is represented by LAND token, which is a non-fungible ERC-721 token that can be purchased in the primary market using MANA token.

The MANA token allows users to interact with Decentraland by customising their avatars, interacting with other users, and exploring its virtual world. Further, the MANA token gives users the ability to vote on policy updates to improve the platform. 

By owning MANA, users can customise their avatars, interact with other users, and explore its metaverse. It also gives users the ability to vote on policy updates.

Readmore: What is Decentraland (MANA)?

The Sandbox (SAND)

The Sandbox is a blockchain game that combines technology, DeFi, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It was built in the Ethereum blockchain.

It allows users to create and customise their games and digital assets using free design tools. These digital assets can then be monetized as non-fungible tokens for SAND tokens in the Sandbox Marketplace.

SAND is the token that is used in the Sandbox ecosystem. Essentially this means, to play the game, and do activities within it, users need to own SAND tokens. Holders of SAND can also stake it in the game to earn rewards.

Related: What are NFTs?

What is the future of the metaverse? 

The future of virtual worlds looks promising. Rather than being something that only exists in fiction, the activities people do in the real world now might one day be done in massive numbers within a virtual world.

Let’s have a look at an example. Just recently, a famous rapper Snoop Dogg created his virtual reality platform called the “Snoopverse,” which is the metaverse that he built in the Sandbox platform, where he plans to host events and has built a virtual replica of his house.

Not long after, someone paid 71,000 SAND ($450,000) to be his neighbour. With this, Snoop Dogg’s properties continue to expand, and so does the value of adjoining virtual real estate.

Based on the story above, anything of value in the physical world will also be of value in the virtual world. The commerce opportunities in the metaverse are endless. As more people join the metaverse, more selling opportunities will arise. 

How to buy metaverse crypto?

Easy Crypto tries to simplify the cryptocurrency experience and make it accessible for anyone and anywhere. Here are 5 quick and easy ways to buy cryptocurrency:

Want to learn more about the metaverse and NFTs? Explore our learning H