The Metaverse is Coming! What is it? How do I profit from it?

What is the Metaverse?

The word Metaverse literally means a universe beyond the physical world. More specifically, it refers to a computer generated world, a fully immersive 3-dimensional digital environment, with shared 3D spaces linking into a virtual universe. It describes the concept of a future iteration of the Internet; it is the ultimate virtual reality, a digital world that anyone can connect to.

Key elements of the Metaverse could include virtual identities, social networks, immersive experiences, diverse content (e.g. entertainment, gaming, lifestyle, education, financial services etc); being easily accessible anywhere and anytime; with a functioning economy and a virtual civilization.

Many of these new virtual platforms will likely be powered by blockchain technology, allowing a new kind of decentralized digital asset to be built, owned and monetized.

How far along are we in the development of the Metaverse?

At the current stage, we think the Metaverse can broadly be broken down into two distinct types of platforms.

The first centers around building a blockchain-based Metaverse, using blockchain technologies. Examples would be platforms, which allow people to purchase virtual parcels of land and build their own environments.

The second group uses the Metaverse to refer to virtual worlds more generally, where people can meet up for business or recreation. Large social media companies announced in July it was creating a product team to work on the Metaverse. Gaming platforms where users can compete/collaborate in games as well as create their own games, also fall into this category.

How big is this market and which companies stand to benefit?

Bloomberg Intelligence believes the market opportunity for the Metaverse can reach a more bullish US$800bn by 2024. Emerging technologies such as virtual reality, engines, and blockchain allow the Metaverse to take form and grow. According to Renub Research, the Global Virtual Reality Market may be US$80bn by 2026, compared to US$24bn in 2020  

Key beneficiaries would be companies operating in the following sectors – social media, ecommerce-related, payments, augmented reality/virtual reality, video games/interactive entertainment, as well as companies which build the infrastructure that the Metaverse runs on.