In deference to growing awareness of Web3, this year’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) will feature an exciting new category, ‘Best Metaverse Performance’, with K-pop sensations BTS, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber and American chanteuse Ariana Grande among the six nominees for their recent metaverse music projects:
Metaverse MTV Awards: Full List
Tune in to the VMAs on August 28 to find out who will take out the first ever ‘Best Metaverse Performance’ award. Voting closed on August 8 for the six acts in contention: Justin Bieber and Wave’s ‘An Interactive Virtual Experience’; Fortnite’s ‘the Rift Tour’ featuring Ariana Grande; YouTube and BTS collaboration PUBG Mobile and Blackpink’s ‘The Virtual’; and both Carli XCX’s and Twenty One Pilot’s collabs with Roblox.
MTV’s decision to broaden its categories was based on what it describes as the desire to recognise artists’ efforts to connect with their global fans via virtual metaverse experiences.
We saw the opportunity to highlight and honour some of the best, most impactful executions of this – and celebrate artists who have found creative ways to use these spaces – which led to the addition of a ‘Best Metaverse Performance’ category this year.
MTV spokesperson
The awards show also announced its maiden metaverse foray on August 12, with Paramount Game Studios releasing The VMA Experience to Roblox’s metaverse. The collaboration will be live until early September 2022.
What Else is Happening in the Metaverse?
Just this month, the metaverse real estate ‘bubble’ popped. As happens when the actual real estate bubble bursts, metaverse prices crashed by 85 percent. Beyond waning interest, the downfall of the sector was linked to a wider drop in the value of crypto and NFTs, alongside harsh macroeconomic conditions.
Prior to this, Animoca Brands, the company behind The Sandbox, launched a new decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) called OMA3, with hopes of developing the metaverse’s interoperability standards. Animoca has reportedly established an alliance with other prominent Web3 companies and plans to prioritise users’ asset ownership capabilities in its upcoming changes.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has shared a media release indicating its intentions to sue Meta and block its acquisition of Within, a VR fitness app maker.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, comes off the back of rising concerns over Meta’s plans for metaverse expansion:
Meta Marches Toward a Monopoly
The purchase of Within may not be so significant on its own; however, the FTC has concerns it could be Meta’s first step towards holding a monopoly over the metaverse:
In its media release, the FTC stated that it sought to block the purchase and alleges that Meta is attempting to stifle VR fitness competition from independent studios. The commission’s final vote was 3-2 in favour of blocking the deal.
With Meta already owning ‘Beat Saber’, which many deem a fitness app, there is concern that the purchase of Within could stifle competitive innovation. However, Nikhil Shanbhag, Meta’s vice president and associate general counsel, has challenged this notion.
The idea that this acquisition would lead to anticompetitive outcomes in a dynamic space with as much entry and growth as online and connected fitness is simply not credible.
Nikhil Shanbhag, Meta vice president/associate general counsel
The FTC’s plans to prevent the purchase of Within are not the only new information to come to light this week. Meta’s latest earnings report for Q2 revealed that the tech giant’s Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) division recorded a loss of US$2.81 billion, only a slight improvement on its Q1 loss of US$2.96 billion.
Meta is seemingly not fazed by these figures. Instead, the company is focusing on establishing its metaverse sector for what it hopes will be a successful 2030s decade.
Other Metaverse Developments
Of late, there have been multiple developments regarding the metaverse and its adoption. In April, Meta announced plans to open a physical metaverse-themed store in the San Francisco Bay area. Plans for the store include wall-to-wall curved LED screens to display what users would see when using virtual reality (VR) headsets. Its overall purpose is to provide demos and show the public how VR and metaverse tech work.
This week also saw new initiatives from Sandbox creator Animoca Brands, which has announced an alliance with several prominent Web3 companies to develop a new decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO). The DAO will prioritise users’ asset ownership capabilities and return autonomy to the owners of digital assets.
The metaverse is proving its popularity, according to data contained in a recent report from the Analysis Group that estimates the so-called “internet on steroids” could make a US$3 trillion GDP contribution in its first decade.
Opportunity in the Metaverse
The report suggests that metaverse adoption could “contribute 2.8 percent of global GDP in the 10th year after the adoption begins”, providing adoption starts this year. However, such growth is only likely if the industry reaches its expected potential:
Analysis Group is not the only company assessing the latent profitability of the metaverse sector. Global investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts as much as US$8 trillion potential earnings. More conservatively, leading crypto asset manager Grayscale foresees a US$1 trillion opportunity. Regardless, JPMorgan – another global investment bank – believes the metaverse is likely to infiltrate every sector in coming years.
Metaverse Success Stories
Lately, the metaverse has been gaining traction through several differing channels. Most recently, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta (formerly Facebook) launched a metaverse-themed store in San Francisco. The store incorporates wall-to-wall LED screens displaying what users could witness through VR headsets, with the aim of providing interactive demos to anyone interested.
Also this year, metaverse token ‘CEEK VR’ surged by 100 percent following the exposure it gained at the 2022 Grammy Awards. CEEK hosted a booth at the event which evidently attracted the attention of many investors, successfully driving sales.
Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has announced its intentions to sell a large quantity of virtual land. The goal of the sales is to broaden the community and raise approximately US$178 million toward the progress of Yuga’s gaming-focused metaverse project, MetaRPG:
Big Plans for Bored Apes
Yuga Labs is predicted to generate net revenues of US$455 million in 2022, with the profits from virtual land sales likely to form a large part of this sum. In phase one of its metaverse initiative, Yuga intends to sell 200,000 plots over two sales, to take place this month and in August.
Moving into the metaverse will help Yuga Labs diversify its revenue streams and move away from BAYC NFTs. Yet not everyone in the Twitter community is convinced:
Despite the scepticism of its plans, Yuga has supplied onlookers with a name for the metaverse initiative alongside some basic information. The project is called MetaRPG and will be gaming-focused and compatible with a range of NFTs. An in-game app store will allow players to create characters via NFTs and use them in games.
It’s also worth noting that APECoin is the proposed token for Yuga Labs’ metaverse. The currency will be usable in the in-game store and will encourage bartering and trading among players.
At this very early stage, there are little to no details of how exactly users may be able to participate in Yuga Labs’ latest venture.
Bored Apes: Rights and Partnerships
The Bored Ape Yacht Club has always been a notable presence within the NFT and crypto community. However, the creative minds behind BAYC have been busy over the past year expanding its horizons. In late 2021, the project announced a partnership with Adidas to enter the metaverse after the sports apparel brand paid US$156,000 for a single Ape.
More recently, Yuga Labs acquired the rights to two other hit NFT collections – CryptoPunks and Meebits. The company purchased both the commercial rights and intellectual property rights and has plans to award full commercial rights to NFT holders.
Microsoft’s hugely popular Sandbox game, Minecraft, is going Web3. ‘NFT Worlds’ is a blockchain layer that will be added to third-party Minecraft servers accompanied by a Polygon-based overlay, with the Ethereum sidechain set to offer gas-free transactions.
Minecraft Adds a Blockchain Layer
Minecraft seems to be the answer Web3 builders have been searching for, and the announcement of NFT Worlds is generating a lot of hype on social media. The 2011 smash-hit video game has remained widely relevant since its release, and the announcement of the move to Web3 will only heighten interest:
NFT Worlds will permit players to experience the metaverse within an existing game. The NFTs Minecraft is set to add will come in the form of land, similarly to metaverse-specific games like The Sandbox. Users who purchase an NFT will be given a world seed – a unique code that generates a specific landscape. Essentially, this will enable users to purchase their own server.
Beyond this, NFT Worlds will provide players with other Web3 features, including an online shop selling items to enhance gameplay. The current floor price for a Minecraft seed is US$45,000 and the $WRLD token will be used for any in-game purchases.
Microsoft Embraces Crypto and the Metaverse
Mid-2021 saw Microsoft introduce NFTs to Minecraft with the backing of an Enjin wallet. The project permits players to collect in-game digital assets granting players access to a range of special quests and benefits. This venture was followed by Microsoft’s move to purchase prominent gaming company Activision Blizzard. The US$69 million acquisition is a continuation of Microsoft’s metaverse plans.
English Premier League champions Manchester City has partnered with Sony to bring its home ground, Etihad Stadium, to the metaverse. The project has begun construction and will allow the football club to offer new digital experiences to fans through the “cutting-edge” virtual venture.
Etihad Stadium, home to Man City FC since 2003, has begun its virtual recreation. The replica will be the team’s central hub and the first football stadium to move into the metaverse.
To complete the project, Man City has signed a three-year contract with Sony Group Corporation. Image analysis and skeletal tracking technology will assist specialists in the stadium’s construction. The first-of-its-kind venture will remove geographic barriers for fans outside England who wish to fully experience a live-recorded match.
Metaverse Stadium to Show Action From All Angles
The goal of the metaverse stadium is to allow fans to watch games live and to see all the action from multiple perspectives. The project seeks to demonstrate the club’s commitment to the sports entertainment business.
Following in the Footsteps of United
The Manchester football scene has been diving headfirst into the world of crypto and the metaverse, with City’s crosstown rivals Manchester United making some big moves this year. Man U announced a US$27 million partnership with Tezos earlier this month, allowing the blockchain company centre placement on the team’s training kit.
A group of former United legends has also come together to launch a sports-focused DAO. Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville are working to allow fans to invest in professional football via their decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO). The project will honour the Red Devils’ class of ’92.
Webbland, an “interoperable pixel metaverse”, has seen its NFT sales soar by 126 percent this week after two pixelated penthouses sold for six-figure sums – taking out two places in this week’s top 15 NFT sales:
Webbland Records $3.6m Profit in a Week
Over the past seven days, Webbland has recorded over US$3.6 million in profit thanks to the heavily piqued interest of users.
Penthouse #9051 edged into 14th position on the top 15 NFT sales list for the week, with the apartment selling for 50 ETH – approximately US$139,848 at the time of purchase. Penthouse #9056 took 15th place, going for 48 ETH (US$131,830).
It appears unlikely that metaverse sales, both within Webbland and among the wider industry, will let up. Much of the chatter on social networks surrounding the Webbland sales was about finding humour in the situation. Currently, Webbland’s floor price is 3 ETH:
Big Names Moving into the Metaverse
The metaverse is rapidly growing in popularity with several big corporate names getting involved. Warner Brothers entered a partnership with The Sandbox at the end of January 2022, with a goal to develop the first music-themed metaverse. The project is set to host several popular artists, including Coldplay and Madonna.
It also appears that Walmart is making quiet moves to cash in on the metaverse hype. The American multinational retail corporation has been spotted placing new trademark applications that appear to indicate metaverse-related plans.
Gucci has announced plans to expand into The Sandbox metaverse. The luxury brand has bought an undisclosed quantity of lands within the virtual world in a project labelled Gucci Vault, and is seeking to appeal to Generation Z with the move.
Step Inside the Gucci Vault
The announcement accompanies a February 10 Twitter post introducing the Gucci Vault, which Gucci describes as an experimental space and is the brainchild of the company’s creative director, Alessandro Michele. Fans have already responded positively to Gucci’s corporate metaverse involvement:
In a blatant pitch to Gen Z, The Sandbox has stated that Gucci’s new endeavour is “inspired by childhood memories” and hopes to stimulate the conversation surrounding the metaverse and the designer fashion industry’s future. The company’s plans to enter the metaverse follow its mid-2021 release of a non-fungible token (NFT) collection.
The Gucci Vault Instagram account is up and running and while its posts remain cryptic, it is said that the project will also be a means for Gucci to sell vintage pieces alongside those from other notable designers. If you’d like to learn more about the Gucci Vault, the official Discord channel is now live.
Sandbox Moves from Strength to Strength
Gucci is not The Sandbox’s first partnership. The Ethereum-based game announced a collaboration last month with Warner Bros to launch the first music-themed metaverse. Purchasing lands within the game will allow the company to develop a musical theme park and concert venue.
The Sandbox token (SAND) skyrocketed at the end of 2021 as Facebook’s announcement of its rebranding to Meta had a butterfly effect on the industry. While the price of SAND is currently sitting at around A$6.25, further brand involvement could see it continue to rise.
Metaverse NFT projects have been in development behind the scenes prior to the metaverse becoming a buzz term after Facebook’s recent announcement. But what exactly is the metaverse? and which games are worth checking out?
The idea of the metaverse is that of a virtual and immersive online only world. If you’ve ever seen the movie Ready, Player One, you might have an idea of how a metaverse could look. Within these worlds, an avatar represents you and you are free to interact with other people and places (occasionally replicated from real life).
This mass multiplayer format (MMO) often seeks to develop its own governance and economy. This is where in-game tokens and NFT assets can represent some kind of value through uniqueness and scarcity.
Typically, there are four main components of metaverses and their NFTs are
Transparency: Anyone can check the blockchain to find more information about the NFTs and their transactions.
Decentralisation: There is no central entity controlling the metaverse. It should be an equitable experience for all.
Real-life value: Any tokens you encounter within the metaverse should be tradeable on external markets.
User governance: The players should have a say in changes implemented within the metaverse, via a vote.
Some metaverses can be explored for free, and you can acquire the NFTs or in-game tokens from airdrops and giveaways, then participate in play-to-earn aspects. However, most require you to purchase digital assets from NFT marketplaces using your DeFi crypto wallet such as MetaMask.
This article will highlight what we believe to be the current top 10 metaverse NFT projects available. Here, we will address what comprises each project, how it is unique, and where NFTs fit into the game.
Decentraland is the metaverse NFT project that allows its players to truly immerse themselves in the game. Compatible with online browsers and VR technology, Decentraland leverages the Ethereum blockchain to monitor the buying and selling of virtual real estate, known as land. How you use your land is entirely up to you; your possibilities are near endless. However, the goal of Decentraland is to create a collaborative user network through peer-to-peer communication.
The concept of buying land is not unique to Decentraland, yet $MANA is. $MANA is a cryptocurrency specific to the game. Land and artwork, which take the form of NFTs within Decentraland, can only be bought with this currency.
Developed by a Vietnamese studio, Axie Infinity brings Pokémon-style characters to an NFT-based metaverse. If you’ve been seeking cute, blob-style pets that you can use to battle against other players, Axie Infinity may be the game for you. Operating on the Ethereum blockchain, the game revolves around breeding, raising, and battling your Axies.
Both the land and the Axies you purchase are NFTs sold via the in-game marketplace. Most of the transactions within the game take place on Ronin – a tailored sidechain offering lower fees than you’d ordinarily find on the main blockchain. The game design itself is simplistic, colourful, and attractive to the eye.
The Sandbox combines the blocky terrain of Minecraft with the metaverse concept to provide players with a play-to-earn universe. The Sandbox only launched last month after four years of development. It allows players to earn its currency ($SAND) by completing game quests or through the sale of their digital assets.
NFTs can be found within gameplay in the form of land. Once you purchase a piece of land, you have the option to begin creating your own minigames that you can publish, charging token fees to play. Beyond creating your own games, a key aspect of The Sandbox is allowing its players a say in the metaverse governance.
If you’re a Destiny fan or like to explore the latest RPGs (Role Play Games) in your free time, Star Atlas is offering its own metaverse NFT take on these concepts. Star Atlas presents an MMORPG (mass multiplayer online role-playing game) that gives you the power to create a character and a spaceship and explore outer space in an open-world game style. Star Atlas’s unique appeal comes from the opportunity for players to buy in and partly own the game.
$ATLAS and $POLIS are the two in-game currencies. While Star Atlas is play-to-earn, you can purchase NFT-style game features across the in-game market and contribute to a robust virtual economy.
CryptoVoxels is another play-to-earn, Minecraft-style metaverse. Developed by a New Zealand company and listed on the Ethereum blockchain, CryptoVoxels is one of the less creatively impressive metaverse on this list. However, what it lacks in aesthetics it makes up for in versatility and gameplay, being categorised as a game of financial strategy.
Ethereum is the sole payment method within this metaverse. You can use it to purchase collectibles or collections, and land. CryptoVoxels is versatile in supporting platforms, which include the options to play online, on Android, or on VR.
Bloktopia is a fluorescent sci-fi VR metaverse with many real-life connections. The game itself is played within a 21-storey skyscraper called ‘Bloktopia’, where ‘Bloktopians’ have the option to earn tokens ($BLOK) through advertising revenue, network building, real estate, and more.
The real-life links within the game can be found in advertisements from companies such as Polygon, Animoca Brands, and Jake Paul, visible on billboards within the game’s trailer. The game is heavily designed around incorporating NFTs and profiting from your endeavours. However, the gameplay seems well-designed and might be quite immersive in VR.
The Starl metaverse functions similarly to other projects on this list. You can buy land within the game to use as you please. With your virtual real estate, you have the option to rent it out to other players, which seems to be unique to the Starl metaverse. Beyond this, you can interact with real people, customise your avatar, explore and gamble.
$STARL is the token used within this metaverse, tradeable for other cryptocurrencies or for fiat money. The opportunities for your in-game tokens spring from an interconnected economy within the metaverse’s ecosystem.
Somnium Space presents a metaverse that feels like the Sims. It is an open-world, virtual society that you can interact with via PC or mobile; however, to get the full experience and really jump into the game, you may want to connect it to a VR headset.
Somnium Space tracks your purchases (via $CUBE) on a blockchain, allows you to monetise your experience, own virtual real estate, and live ‘forever’. In recent exciting news, there may be potential in the future to see Somnium space partner with TESLASUIT for a boosted VR experience.
Nakamoto Games considers itself the play-to-earn revolution. Evident in its mission, Nakamoto seeks to give every person the opportunity to earn crypto and generate a sustainable income. $NAKA, the metaverse’s token, is necessary to access the ecosystem. Naka tokens can be entered into a weekly prize pool and players who rank highest on the leaderboard can win a share from this pool.
Anyone with a crypto wallet can enter this metaverse to play. However, if you consider yourself more of a developer, you can create and monetise games within the metaverse that can generate you a return. If you aren’t that tech-savvy, it’s worth noting that anyone with Naka tokens can contribute to the metaverse governance instead.
You can ‘be your own hero’ in Metahero’s which boasts Ultra-HD photogrammetric scanning technology to bring yourself and real-life places into the game. Within this metaverse, you are likely to encounter gaming, fashion, medicine, NFTs, social media, and VR/AR capabilities.
The $HERO token is the sole currency belonging to this digital ecosystem. Metahero is paired with Wolf Digital World (WDW), and together they define their partnership as two separate companies with one life-changing mission. This metaverse aims to allow its players to do anything in the digital world that they can do in the real world. You also get the ability to create NFTs that you can use to auction, trade, or sell as you see fit. However, it may be exciting enough just to copy yourself into a video game.
Conclusions
Whether it’s buying and selling virtual real estate, creating and monetising your own minigames, or playing to earn, metaverses provide many crypto-related opportunities.
The creation of NFTs, known as “minting” allows players to truly own any digital assets that they purchase within the game. Then, thanks to blockchain technology, these purchases and trades can be traced to verify their true ownership.
Metaverse projects are designed to create safe spaces for play and for financial transactions. With these various metaverses offering platform compatibility via smartphones, VR headsets, and computers, what these digital worlds can offer is extensive. It is likely that the future will only bring more versatility to this industry.
If you consider yourself to be a gamer or a crypto lover, it may be worth keeping up to date with this technology as it evolves.
Welcome to this weekly series from the TradeRoom. My name is Dave and I’m the founder of The Crypto Den, an Australian-based crypto trading and education community aiming to give you the knowledge to take your trading game to the next level.
We’ve seen a bit of a pullback in price action in the market over the past four days, which isn’t a bad thing. Last week the total crypto market cap reached US$3 trillion for the first time in history and has since pulled back to the US$2.7 trillion mark, which could be seen as a new level of “Support”. It’s currently sitting at US$2.8 trillion.
In last week’s article I mentioned BTC forming a symmetrical triangle which, as a general rule, has a 70% chance of breaking out to the upside. As you’ll see below, BTC did have a bullish break into a new all-time high (ATH) and has since reversed with some bearish price action to what we call a retest zone. What goes up, must come down … and that’s the same for financial markets. Nothing continues to go up without having some downs along the way.
BTC is retesting a new level of support after retracing in the 61.8% golden pocket. This is actually a bullish signal and could simply indicate a new market structure to launch from! We still expect BTC to reach US$78,000 soon.
Last Week’s Performance
MANA/USDT
Last week I mentioned the coin to watch was MANA (Decentraland) as the bullish momentum was just too good to ignore. It’s seen price action increase 57% and currently retracing. It seems to be bouncing from the 50% fib level at the time of writing and could see the 61.8% fib before a continuation up again. In the TradeRoom there’s been a lot of chatter around these Metaverse coins/tokens, and the sentiment is very bullish!
CHR/USDT
An amazing trade taken last week by one of our TradeRoom legends – “TypeGuy” – was on CHR (another Metaverse token). I’ve recreated his chart below. You can see see price action retraced to the trend line, then painted a bullish engulfing candle leading to a breakout. TypeGuy trades this on 10x leverage yielding him over 300% ROI. CHR did 76% on spot in only two days! That’s what I call a killer trade! TypeGuy has become an extremely consistent trader in TradeRoom after completing our trading course and shares a massive amount of his charts every week!
This Week’s Trades
BTC/USD
As mentioned above, BTC has seen a healthy pullback in price action and retraced back to that golden pocket. Forming a higher low (HL) on the 4H chart and breaking out the new market structure is VERY bullish so far. A big bullish engulfing candle was forming at the time of writing this and if this momentum can continue, we will surely see a break well above US$70,000 this week!
ETH/USD
If BTC follows the bullish path, ETH won’t be far behind. Currently in a falling wedge (bullish continuation pattern) and having had a “triple bottom” in that golden pocket, ETH looks really bullish! We would expect to see US$5,000 ETH this week if this plays out well!
LTC/USD
Another big top 10 to watch is LTC. Litecoin is usually either late to the party or early, but it’s rarely on time! What I mean by this is that sometimes it leads the way in price action, beating other top 10 coins to the punch, or it gets totally left behind to do its own thing and show up late again.
This time LTC has shown up early. Pushing out of the falling wedge we expect to see a slight and short-lived pullback before continuing up. I’m getting a Fibonacci target of US$350.
It’s important to remember that when trading ALT coins, their price action is heavily dependent on BTC. If BTC takes a bullish path, ALTs will likely follow. If BTC turns bearish, then ALTs will likely dump in price even harder!
If you’d like to become a better trader, you’re invited to join our TradeRoom where we share daily charts and market analysis. In our community we strongly encourage and teach correct risk management strategies to keep our members safe in this new volatile crypto market.
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