People these days endorse the metaverse as the next big thing in tech. Numerous companies have already entered the space to best use the first mover advantage. Per Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, however, their efforts might all go in vain.
Taking Twitter to opine on the budding technology, Buterin said that the metaverse “is going to happen.” He added that corporate efforts to “intentionally create” the metaverse would likely not be fruity.
The Ethereum founder’s opinion stemmed from a quote-tweet of a thread posted by Dialectic co-founder Dean Eigenmann, who does “not believe” that the metaverse will happen in the ways VCs are currently funding. Despite communities moving to virtual worlds, Eigenmann stated that he’d personally stay out of the metaverse “crap.”
Justifying his stance, however, the Ethereum founder explained how the metaverse technology is in its nascent stage. He further outlined how there’s no set “definition” of metaverse yet. According to him, it is “far too early” to judge and conclude what users expect.
Meta has been sharpening its metaverse knife and is currently one of the forerunners in the race. From building first-generational smart glasses that aid users in connecting to the metaverse via audio and video recording to making various AR and VR applications, the company has been checking multiple boxes simultaneously.
As highlighted in a recent article, Meta also intends to acquire Within Unlimited Inc. and its VR fitness app Supernatural with the same intention. However, it is currently in a fix for wanting to do so.
Read More: Opinion: Is Meta’s Metaverse monopolization goal concerning?
At this stage, the Ethereum founder feels that Meta’s metaverse efforts “will backfire.” He tweeted:
“It’s that we don’t really know the definition of “the metaverse” yet, it’s far too early to know what people actually want. So anything Facebook creates now will misfire.”
Weighing the Metaverse’s potential
Many companies have been directing their efforts in the metaverse’s direction. It’s a known fact that Sandbox and Decentraland currently serve as homes to multiple popular metaverse projects. The virtual land-plot owing trend has aided in escalating their demand.
Furthermore, prominent NFT projects are also trying to remix the metaverse and make it synonymous with their respective brands. For instance, bored Ape Yacht Club’s Yuga Labs is in the early stages of developing its own metaverse gaming project. Alongside, sports franchises have been hopping onto the bandwagon, indicating the mass conviction concerning this tech.
Read More: These top European Football Clubs joined the NFT, Metaverse game in 2022
The global metaverse market was valued at around $40 billion in 2021. Despite the recent skepticism, several kinds of research have shown that it has much more potential to grow. Per a recent analysis by Precedence Research,
“… the global metaverse market size is projected to be worth around USD 1,607.12 billion by 2030 and expanding growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50.74% from 2022 to 2030.”