Vitalik Buterin predicts the metaverse will be built, but any existing corporation trying to intentionally build one will not succeed, adding that efforts by Meta (formally Facebook) to do so will “misfire.”
See related article: Will Facebook’s metaverse future transform how we live online?
Fast facts
- In a Twitter thread over the weekend, the Ethereum cofounder also argued that there is not even a broadly accepted definition of the term yet, so it is too early to predict what consumers will want.
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sparked a surge of interest in the topic after announcing the social media giant will be pivoting to focus on the metaverse, renaming the firm to Meta shortly after to reflect this change.
- “I believe the metaverse is the next chapter for the internet,” Zuckerberg said in a video introducing the company name change last year.
- A metaverse is an immersive computer program in which users can interact with the environment and each other, which may include some elements of virtual or augmented reality.
- While Meta is not likely to incorporate blockchain technology or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into its metaverse, many decentralized metaverse programs have emerged in recent months leveraging the technology.
- NFT sales for plots of land in Yuga Labs’ (creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs) metaverse project “Otherside” have amassed over US$1 billion in secondary sales since launching in May.
See related article: What will be the law of the metaverse?