Metaverse is a term coined by Neal Stephenson in Snow Crash, a cyberpunk science fiction book, described as a sort of virtual reality shared via the internet, where one is represented in three dimensions through one's avatar. Stephenson characterizes the Metaverse as an immense black sphere of 65,536 km in circumference, cut in two at the equator by a road that can also be traveled on a monorail with 256 stations, each 256 km away. On this sphere, each person can create in 3D what they want, shops, offices, nightclubs and more, all potentially open to users. Stephenson's is a futuristic vision of the modern internet, frequented by the medium-high segments of the population, where the difference between social classes is represented by the resolution of one's avatar, and the possibility of accessing exclusive places. Examples of metaverse are considered to be MMORPGs and chats in three dimensions such as Second life or Active Worlds.
What is the Metaverse?
The metaverse is an increasingly complex concept in the digital landscape, promising exceptional opportunities for billions of people. A complete definition of the metaverse is currently still being outlined by modern pioneers. However, most people refer to the “metaverse” as a new kind of internet experience, one built around a number of unique technologies.
What Is Decentraland (MANA)?
Decentraland (MANA) defines itself as a virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain that allows users to create, experience, and monetize content and applications.
In this virtual world, users purchase plots of land that they can later navigate, build upon and monetize.
Decentraland was launched following a $24 million initial coin offering (ICO) that was conducted in 2017. The virtual world launched its closed beta in 2019 and opened to the public in February 2020. Since then, users have created a wide range of experiences on their parcels of LAND, including interactive games, sprawling 3D scenes and a variety of other interactive experiences.
Decentraland uses two tokens: MANA and LAND. MANA is an ERC-20 token that must be burned to acquire non-fungible ERC-721 LAND tokens. MANA tokens can also be used to pay for a range of avatars, wearables, names, and more on the Decentraland marketplace.
Who Are the Founders of Decentraland?
Decentraland was co-founded by Ariel Meilich and Esteban Ordano — both of whom have stepped down from major positions at the project, but still work alongside Decentraland as advisors.
Ariel Meilich previously held the role of project lead at Decentraland between 2017 and 2020, and is a serial entrepreneur that has founded several other startups, including an online translation agency and a CRM platform. He also worked as an analyst at Charles River Ventures, a prominent Silicon Valley venture fund.
On the other hand, Esteban Ordano is Decentraland's former tech lead and has a long and varied history in the cryptocurrency space working as a software engineer at BitPay, Inc., an advisor to Matic Network and briefly operated his own smart contract development firm known as Smart Contract Solutions.
Esteban is also credited with co-founding Zeppelin Solutions, an established blockchain technology infrastructure company.
Although Ariel and Estaban are no longer leading the project, the development of Decentraland is still ongoing, with efforts being directed by the recently established Decentraland Foundation.
What Makes Decentraland Unique?
Decentraland is built for content creators, businesses and individuals that are looking for a new artistic medium, business opportunity, or source of entertainment.
In total, the Decentraland gameworld — termed the “Metaverse” — is divided into 90,601 individual parcels of LAND, each of which is represented by an ERC-721 non-fungible token. Each LAND is exactly 16m x 16m (256 square meters) and can be found at a particular coordinate in the Metaverse.
Though LAND holders are free to develop their plot into whatever they choose, much of the Metaverse is broadly divided into several districts, each of which has a different size and theme. These districts were generated through individual crowdsales for MANA tokens, and parcels of LAND in these districts cannot be traded.
As of January 2021, the cyberpunk-themed Aetheria is the largest district — comprising a total of 8,008 LAND.
Decentraland is also one of the growing number of projects to use a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) structure for governance decisions. As a result, MANA toker holders are in control of how the Decentraland world behaves, by proposing and voting on policy updates, the specifics of upcoming LAND auctions and the types of content that are allowed with the Metaverse.
Besides being a creative outlet, many Decentraland users currently monetize their LAND through leasing, advertising and paid experiences. Likewise, other users generate an income by creating and selling items on the Decentraland marketplace for MANA tokens.
What Is The Sandbox (SAND)?
Launched in 2011 by Pixowl, The Sandbox is a blockchain-based virtual world allowing users to create, build, buy and sell digital assets in the form of a game. By combining the powers of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the Sandbox creates a decentralized platform for a thriving gaming community.
According to the official whitepaper, the Sandbox platform’s main mission is to introduce blockchain technology in mainstream gaming successfully. The platform focuses on facilitating a creative “play-to-earn” model, which allows users to be both creators and gamers simultaneously. The Sandbox employs the powers of blockchain technology by introducing the SAND utility token, which facilitates transactions on the platform.
Who Are the Founders of The Sandbox?
Arthur Madrid is co-founder and CEO at Pixowl, and he is one of the driving forces behind The Sandbox. He graduated with a degree in economics from Université Paris Dauphine in 2000. Madrid’s professional career began as a consultant for Eurogroup Consulting France, but he soon found his entrepreneurial spirit. In 2001, he founded 1-Click Media, which was later purchased by Ipercast.
Sebastien Borget is also a co-founder at Pixowl and serves as the COO of the company. He graduated with a degree in computer systems networking and telecommunications from Institut national des Télécommunications in 2007. His professional career began as a project lead for 1-Click Media, and since then, Arthur Madrid and Sebastien Borget have been an entrepreneurial duo. They founded Pixowl in 2011 and have been continually working on projects together.
What Makes The Sandbox Unique?
The Sandbox is a unique platform because it introduces blockchain technology to the world of gaming. The gaming industry is a huge untapped market when it comes to the adoption of blockchain tech, and Pixowl saw that in 2011. By creating a universe where gamers can create and collect blockchain-based assets, the Sandbox aims to revolutionizes the market. It makes a niche for itself in the global market of gaming.
By focusing on user-generated content, the Sandbox creates a metaverse of involved players who contribute to the platform’s further development. Not only that, by introducing the SAND token, the Sandbox promotes decentralized governance and allows users to share their views and ideas about the development of the project. Thanks to the evolving technology, decentralized governance is becoming a must-have in blockchain-based projects.
The company started out with a bang and attracted support and investments from numerous big names in the gaming industry. These include brands like Atari, Helix and CryptoKitties.
What Is Polkacity (POLC)?
Polkacity is an NFT marketplace that aims to “revolutionize the ownership of virtual assets” by building the world’s first 3D and AR NFT platform that will be on multiple blockchains. Users can purchase and own virtual taxis, gas stations, and services and earn interest on their assets. By holding the NFTs representing them, users receive weekly payments as the virtual city combining different DeFi elements grows. Polkacity is constantly expanding the available assets, now also including land and infrastructure.
Launched at the beginning of 2021, Polkacity has published a mobile app and a desktop version of its virtual city. In Q3 2021, Polkacity launched its marketplace, where citizens can trade assets. In the future, the project foresees expansion to different blockchains and the addition of additional NFTs like neighboring cities or even continents.
Who Are the Founders of Polkacity?
Polkacity is led by Carmelo Milian, the project’s lead software developer who previously worked at Microsoft and co-founded OneCloud, a cloud computing company. Fatih Atali is the team’s marketing advisor, a high physics engineer and co-founder of Blockchain Game Factory with over five years of experience in cryptocurrency. The team is complemented by Murad Aliyev, the technology manager with over five years of experience in technology infrastructure projects, and Manuel Leal, an experienced web developer.
In addition, Polkacity has sealed several interesting partnerships, such as teaming up with former NBA star Baron Davis as an ambassador and sponsoring blockchain-related events in Miami.
What Makes Polkacity Unique?
Polkacity aspires to be the virtual equivalent of an actual city, reflected in the NFTs available for purchase. Currently, players can buy:
Different types of taxis, ranging from compacts to limousines’
Power stations (petrol or electric);
Car-related service stations like car washes, rentals and repairs;
Hotels, restaurants, and shopping centers;
Leisure-related establishments like discos.
Each NFT fetches a different price, from 1,500 POLC for a compact taxi (1,000 available) to 105,000 POLC for a shopping center (50 available). Players recoup the money through weekly payments of network rewards plus an additional share of earnings from the asset. For instance, an owner of a compact taxi will receive 60 POLC per week plus 16% of the taxi’s earnings per month, while owning a shopping center returns 13,125 POLC weekly and 50% of the center’s monthly earnings. In this fashion, players can benefit from the game’s virtual economy.
Moreover, Polkacity aspires to combine several hot-topic elements like NFTs and decentralized finance by creating a 3D and augmented reality platform. Players can enjoy their virtual resources with VR technology.
What Is Bloktopia (BLOK)?
Bloktopia is a decentralized metaverse backed by and built on Polygon. In Bloktopia, a decentralized virtual reality skyscraper made up of 21 levels (as recognition to 21 million Bitcoin) acts as a central hub for users to have access to crypto information and immersive content in one place. The so-called Bloktopias can educate themselves in the basics or more advanced crypto learnings, earn revenue by owning virtual real estate, play games, build networks and more. Moreover, advertisers and sponsors can monetize the platform’s userbase through a dedicated NFT mechanism. By providing a VR experience for the crypto community, users can engage in an immersive environment according to Bloktopia’s four core pillars: learn, earn, play and create.
Who Are the Founders of Bloktopia?
Bloktopia is built by experienced blockchain veterans, headed by CEO and co-founder Ross Tavakoli. A “Crypto OG” who has been active in the cryptocurrency space since 2015, Tavakoli’s experience helps Bloktopia with retail investment in the platform. CMO and co-founder Paddy Carrol has worked for some of the UK’s largest brands like BT Group and Sky. The team is complemented by CTO Simon Benson, the project’s tech lead with over 25 years of commercial development experience, and CIO Libby Rothwell, with over 15 years of experience in the film industry.
In addition, Bloktopia has an array of investors that have helped it build a community of over 300,000 followers on Twitter. Animoca Brands, one of the biggest crypto VC funds, is its lead investor and was joined by funds like AU21 Capital, Magnus Capital, Polygon and Avalanche.
What Makes Bloktopia Unique?
Bloktopia aims to create a highly engaging user experience by adding several elements Bloktopians can interact with on the platform.
To engage with Bloktopia’s high-end metaverse, one needs to create an avatar that spawns outside the Bloktopia 21-story skyscraper. Entering the first level, you can get cryptocurrency pricing information, turn to the helpdesk or use the navigation area. You can also get an overview of events taking place in the metaverse on that day, and Bloktopia expects high demand from exchanges and crypto influencers for advertising space in this area.
The auditorium will host immersive and interactive video presentations from crypto influencers and will constitute part of the key events in the Bloktopia metaverse. There will also be another floor hosting a penthouse and gaming section, where users can compete for BLOK in multiplayer games, family-friendly games, or casino games like poker.
Furthermore, there will be the option to purchase real estate represented by an NFT, which can later be leased to advertising parties or used to host your own events. Bloktopia also offers 21 large totems and 84 small totems called ADBLOK, located on the first floor of its skyscraper and are considered excellent advertising opportunities.
Thus, users are able to unlock multiple streams of passive and active income, access educational and learning tools about crypto, and take part in virtual events and gatherings.
What Is Victoria VR (VR)?
Victoria VR is a Blockchain-based MMORPG in Virtual Reality with Realistic Graphics built on Unreal Engine, created and owned by its users. The whole world is built to be a universal platform for all virtual realities, games, and decentralized applications, collectively creating a Metaverse — a shared virtual realm, the 3D internet. In the Victoria VR World, there will be games, quests, never-ending adventure, virtual galleries, and The Big Market VR where you can exchange NFT's in 3D! In addition, users will be rewarded for each of their activities in the VR world.
Victoria VR Tokens (VR) are the native utility tokens and will be the only acceptable currency in the Victoria VR world. The use cases of tokens are: * Staking * DAO * Buying VR Lands * Buying all assets (items, buildings, resources, wearables, services, tickets, courses, art) * Buying modificatory that generate you passive income * Advertisements * Transport * Leasing * And other Extras
An Economy Of Its Own Victoria VR will become a self-sustaining economy. Traditional businesses will establish locations for themselves in Victoria VR, where they will be able to sell and promote their digital and real-world goods and services. They will enable the creation of new business models and a new breed of digital entrepreneurs, removing the barriers for them to provide innovative goods and services to the global Victoria VR community. Victoria VR World will be the place where people will come to work, learn rest and play.
DAO The DAO is a decentralised autonomous organisation that will control Victoria VR World through votes. Therefore, everyone can help decide the future of Victoria VR. All owners of VR tokens and VR lands, will be a part of the DAO and have the right to participate in any vote on the functioning of the Victoria VR. Our Vision is for Victoria VR to be a fully operational world that will grow and evolve without any dependence on its original creators.
A Revolution In NFT's Users will be able to easily create their own NFT's and will be able to get NFT's that have a functional use beyond decorative that can: • Give you real superpowers such as flying or invisibility • Produce VR tokens or even more NFT's
The Big Market VR Victoria VR will take the trading of NFT's to the next level with The Big Market VR - creating an NFT paradise for creators, collectors and traders. The Big Market VR is a decentralized marketplace operating on smart contracts. Users will be able to trade literally anything and everything even new items which can be directly created in The Big Market VR and which have never been offered before. Facilitating the trade of goods and services, users can create and join auctions, with items available to be tested and inspected in detail before purchase.
Who Are the Founders of Victoria VR?
Victoria VR was founded by CEO Ondřej Dobruský and COO Adam Bém. Ondřej Dobruský is a technological expert with over 16 years of experience inventing new technologies, solutions and their application. Experienced with over 11 years of leadership and dream team assembling. Gaming and Virtual Reality enthusiast and developer since 2010 and Game Architect since 2018. Adam Bém is a tech entrepreneur, problem solver, team leader, Blockchain expert and Virtual Reality propagator. Has over 5 years experience with project and team leadership, project planning, strategic planning, project presentation and blockchain technology. Successfully led 2 technological projects with automated trading algorithm development and cyber security emergency team.
What Makes Victoria VR Unique?
• Unrivalled Graphics – we will provide realistic graphics rendered with the latest Unreal Engine, giving the ultimate VR experience. A unique solution to create special effects. • Tokenomics - PLAY TO EARN – a never-ending motivating economy that rewards active users and stakers. • The Quests System – users are motivated to return to Victoria VR. Fully algorithmical, so Victoria VR will continue to live on without the original creators. • New Combat System – Revolutionary combat system in virtual reality. • NFT Revolution – users can Create, Modify and Combine NFT’s. Creators can showcase and sell digital artwork in the NFT Gallery. NFT’s can be securely traded in The Big Market VR. • Future Proofed – the Victoria VR World server solution is fully upgradable and scalable. The DAO gives control of the future evolution of Victoria VR to the people who create and play in this virtual space, its users, who will be in control of the policies that determine how the world behaves. • Largest Number Of Use-Cases – appeals to a wide audience of business and leisure users. Commercial Partnerships, Entertainment, New Business Models. • Timing – learning from the mistakes of others. Appropriate selection of more mature and upgradeable technologies.
