Lately, the word Metaverse appears to be one of the most popular terms to have been adopted over the internet. As you may already know ‘Metaverse’, is a coinage that came into the formation from the words ‘meta’ which means beyond, and the word ‘verse’ which connotes a back-formation from the word universe. The metaverse is a conjectured term off the internet, which describes an online 3D virtual environment through conventional personal computing, as well as virtual and augmented reality headsets. The word metaverse seems to have witnessed a sudden re-emergence on the internet after Facebook announced a name change to Meta as part of its plan to continue to focus on its near future ambitions of developing a VR (virtual reality) social platform for users.
Since the re-emergence of the Metaverse, a number of metaverse cryptocurrency projects are also emerging. They have very similar plans as Meta has but instead, they are doing it in more of a decentralized capacity as their metaverses aren’t controlled by one single entity such as Meta. As a result of this, there has been a lot of both Internet and funds allocated into this sector as this digital cryptocurrency is paired with the blockchain VR social platforms and they will have the final word on how things will be governed and overseen in the metaverse sector.
One of the reasons why these VR projects are so relevant and crucial is because it gives people the ability to be who they want and do what they want within the metaverse space. There is no impossibility, big tech companies such as Meta have recognized this and built infrastructure to cater for the next evolution of social interaction for many years to come.
One of the reasons why people seem to have quickly resonated with Meta’s name change is because, in the evolution about to take place, Meta will still be that entity that governs their social platform as they have previously done. Well on a second look this may contribute to a growing dislike for these tech giants who seem to maintain the chain of power for themselves rather than share control of these platforms with their users. Meta saying its next focus is the metaverse is like using the aspect of the illusion of choice on its users, it states that it will be a VR social platform but it doesn’t actually allow its users to decide or dictate what they would like for it to look like or accept during time spent on the platform.
This describes the decentralized metaverse cryptocurrency projects which are doing the same thing, they give users the ability to decide the fate of the platform by introducing a system of decentralized governance. This allows an actual sense of freedom where users can bring up proposals of their own and other users can vote on these proposals and the consensus will be whether to accept it or not. The most incredible thing about this is that power is spread across a large group of individuals rather than the developer/company having the final say. When this style is combined with the use of blockchain technology, it automatically rewrites the power book in whose hands the future of a platform depends. Below is a list of 3 top choices coming to the metaverses and though you should know about it.
Decentraland (MANA)
The Decentraland cryptocurrency project is one of the most popular metaverse projects that seem to have been around for a while now. It is a platform that combines virtual reality and blockchain technology. The virtual reality social platform seeks to maintain completely transparent and fair governance of the project. Within the platform, there is a customized currency called MANA which creates an environment not just within the boundaries of the digital space but transitions into the real world that provides an actual income for its user. Users have the ability to create their own avatar, users have the opportunity to become whoever they desire and even explore virtual places such as casinos, other parts of the world, or even play VR games.
As earlier mentioned, users have the ability to earn actual money within the platform, one of the popular ways such can happen is by buying and selling land that is assigned for auctions. Users take advantage of buying and selling NFTs of products on Decentraland’s digital marketplace MANA.
The Sandbox (SAND)
The Sandbox is another metaverse project quite similar to that of Decentraland. In the Sandbox, virtual world users can buy and sell products, land, and real estate to earn income. The platform also gives users the opportunity to socially interact with others while enjoying the virtual world together.
The Sandbox has recorded an impressive onboarding of partners/sponsors which has caused an increase in user interactions. Notable names in the American music industry such as like Snoop Dogg and Deadmau5 have been part of the project one way or the other. Sandbox has also recorded well-known shows such as The Walking Dead advertising their game.
Comparison between Decentraland and Sandbox’s market cap has revealed that Sandbox is under 50% ($2.3 billion) to that of Decentraland’s at $5 billion. Both projects have a lot of potential for future growth.
JEDSTAR (KRED)
The third is JETSTAR which is a much newer cryptocurrency project that we have chosen to discuss. The project is one of those that have the most potential for growth as compared to Decentraland and The Sandbox. JEDSTAR can be described as both a DeFi (Decentralised Finance) and a GameFi (Gaming Finance) project. This project seeks to bridge the gap between cryptocurrency and the fiat (USD/GBP) financial sectors.
JEDSTAR has a new token called KRED, which will be introduced in the upcoming CCG (Collectible Card Game), Metaverse MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) as well as their in-game NFT marketplace. JEDSTAR’s most recent partnership with Skill Gaming will showcase the world’s first CAAS (Currency as a Service) model. CAAS will give room to greater adoption of cryptocurrencies without the hassle of having to jump through the regular hoops of converting fiat into crypto. This platform has chosen to implement KRED in an initiative called STARDOME which will permit users of the regular gaming platform to easily buy and sell KRED using the regular payment methods just like in real life.
With only about 4% of the world currently using cryptocurrencies today, the JEDSTAR team has recognized that the adoption of cryptocurrency will be huge in the nearest future and looking for how to reach the remaining 96%. Gaming is an industry that is said to account for about 40% of the entire world’s population and many out of these numbers are already familiar with the use of in-game currencies but with the inability to convert this in-game currency back into regular fiat currency. A mobile analytics firm App Annie released its 2022 Mobile Forecast Report which states that the metaverse game apps will grow to reach over $3 billion in consumer spending in the coming year. JEDSTAR has realized these challenges and is taking the opportunity to bridge this gap easily by introducing an actual cryptocurrency as the base token for Skill Gaming’s platform. This will greatly drive 2 things majorly, the adoption of crypto and helping gamers overcome the obstacles of understanding cryptocurrencies. The KRED token is set to hold their public pre-sale on their site for November/December.