What Is The Metaverse and Why Should Authors, Influencers, and Entrepreneurs Care?

If you follow basketball, you might’ve heard about Steph Curry creating an NFT of his commemorative shoes to celebrate him breaking the 3-point scoring record. He created 2,974 of these NFT sneakers that look just like the ones he wore when he broke that record.?

The starting price was $333, they sold out almost instantly, and skyrocketed in value because of their scarcity. So why were people willing to fork over so much money for shoes that don’t even exist in the physical world? There’s two answers: scarcity and the metaverse.?

NFTs and the value of scarcity

Scarcity is just basic economics; there’s only so many sneaker NFTs, and many people want them, so the value goes up. But the metaverse is a more complex answer. The metaverse is a Web30 space users can engage? with via virtual or augmented reality to access a cutting-edge online world. Think of it as a new, embodied internet experience.?

There are several different versions of the metaverse, built by different groups and companies across the world. But as these metaverses grow, they’re becoming more and more connected. The economy of the metaverse is facilitated by cryptocurrency, so users can buy and sell goods and services in this Web3 space. The metaverse is valued to be trillions of dollars in the next few years.

NFT = non-fungible token

With Steph Curry’s NFT shoes, users could buy and “wear” them in three different popular metaverses. So something that we “wear” in the real world can now be worn in the Web3 world. In this sense, the NFT sneakers aren’t all that different from physical sneakers. People buy, sell, and trade physical sneakers all the time. But the difference is that with physical sneakers, someone could copy them or make fakes. That’s not possible with NFTs, because they’re non-fungible. They’re one of one.

This might all sound like really high-level stuff, but the metaverse is something that’s quickly becoming part of our everyday lives.. Right now, we’re in the stage of the metaverse that was like talking about the Internet in the 1980s. It sounds crazy, but just think about how much the Internet revolutionized our lives in the last 40 years! It’s not just about Steph Curry selling digital shoes—that’s just one example of how early-adopters are already building the metaverse and generating income on it.?

If you want to learn more and be an early-adopter of this revolutionary technology like me, check out the Blockchain Life podcast. Eric Diaz and I talk all about the metaverse on episode 7, and new episodes drop every week!

BTW. Are you an author, influencer, or entrepreneur? If so, join us at the Igniting Souls Conference and start leveraging Web3 for your book, brand, and/or business. (Limited tickets available.)