Investors, brands, and possibly very wealthy individuals are all eyeing virtual land in the metaverse in this digital land rush era.
To put it another way, the “big four” metaverses’ virtual land market is expected to grow from €440 million in 2021 to €1 billion in 2022. For €3.8 million, the Sandbox metaverse sold a plot of land in a single transaction in December last year. We introduce you to the metaverse, a vision for the Internet’s future. A digital property bubble is forming in the virtual land market.
However, is the market overheating?
There are some metaverse founders who are concerned about the rising prices of virtual land in their social networks. CEO and founder of Somnium Space Artur Sychov lamented the influx of financial speculation driving up the prices in the ecosystem during an interview with Euronews Next.
According to Sychov, “there is a lot of hype and a lot of, unfortunately, players in the market that try to take advantage of people. A lot of people don’t understand why they are buying and are trying to speculate on it, which is an absolute no-go and they should never do that.”
‘Oh my god, OK, there’s the ability to earn some money and I’ll buy this [land] parcel,’ people exclaim. I have no intention of doing anything with that piece of property, not even looking after it. I’m just going to buy it in the hopes of reselling it for a profit later.
Somnium Space’s founder and chief executive officer
Investors who buy virtual land NFTs in the hopes of profiting from rising prices, according to Sychov, are going against the spirit of virtual social worlds, which should be about creators, building communities, sharing art, and sharing experiences in virtual space.
Bubbles are perpetuated by a lack of in-depth reporting and reporting that does not go into sufficient detail, as well as by the media itself. According to him, “I get why they do this. It’s very appealing to mention the price.” As a result, a bubble forms and people begin to think, ‘Oh my god, I’m going to buy this parcel just to make some money!'” I have no intention of doing anything with that piece of property, not even looking after it. Just buy it, and I’ll see if I can get a better price later.
For a long time, the idea behind selling virtual land parcels had been to allow members of various on-line communities, such as Reddit and Redditor communities, to expand their presence in the virtual world and, in turn, improve the overall user experience.
Since land parcels are traded on marketplaces such as Parcel and OpenSea, or sold at auction, Sychov has little control over the prices that are dictated by the market demand in Somnium Space.
Welcome to Decentraland, a metaverse world where “land” is worth millions of dollars, thanks to its own cryptocurrency.
Is it legal in the real world to get married in the virtual world, and if so, why?
What is the process of purchasing virtual land?
Similar to NFT sales, virtual land can be bought and sold in the same way. It is impossible to alter the code that certifies an individual’s ownership rights over a digital asset on a blockchain.
When it comes to land, “it’s effectively your deed of ownership that you have, and you can keep it forever,” Dave Carr, a former Decentraland employee and current Parcel co-founder, said.
Rentals and fractionalization of NFT, which is the splitting apart of an NFT so that people can own a piece of that overall NFT, are also in development at the moment.” In fact, that’s something that’s rapidly developing.”
In the metaverse, where do you get your McDonald’s order? NFT and virtual trademarks are registered by the company.
Is Land Ownership a Prerequisite to Taking Part in the Metaverse?
According to Carr, the high land parcel prices may deter some casual users of virtual social worlds, but this does not mean that they will be shut out of the metaverse altogether.
A landowner can also rent out the experience to a community or a brand, as well as other mechanisms such as rentals. Alternatively, that creator could participate in the metaverse and, for example, open a pop-up shop selling their wearables.
“For example, you don’t need to own land to get involved in creating stuff or even having a shop or monetizing your creations in the Metaverse,” he said.
Wearable devices, experiences, and games can still be created in the metaverse and sold if the creators so desire.
Renting out the experience to a brand or an artist can be an option for a landowner. For example, a wearables pop-up shop could be a way for that creator to participate in the metaverse. “That can be the parcel if you like,” he said.
As a result, those who are curious about these new worlds will have more opportunities to get involved. The fact that there are more and more virtual worlds on the horizon “shouldn’t be overlooked,” he added.