The metaverse, which many people are talking about in the current investment market, is a product of Generation Z and based on children’s games. However, if we search for articles related to metaverse on the current portal site, we will find most articles and information related to investment.
Wires connected computers that started as calculators as technology advanced. In other words, computer technology calculated as 0 and 1 began to be expressed to people in text. Since then, lines have been gathered and expressed as planes, and as images and videos have begun to be expressed, more and more people have been using them. When devices that express faces are smaller, the barriers to entry are low, so the age group is also lower.
In other words, this information or data can be expressed to “about 5 billion people out of the world’s 7.9 billion people who are communicating on the Internet.” When communication takes place, of course, mutual exchange or transaction will occur, and we can use it as a means to earn goods.
As if to show the 4th Industrial Revolution, blockchain technology, a technology guaranteed by solidarity between people with a decentralized ledger, has been in the spotlight, and the non-fungible token technology based on blockchain technology has also become popular. In other words, the situation suggests that it is a transitional point in which people’s means of exchange are changing from in-kind to online goods.
Many people now use NFTs for investment instead of its original development purpose of because of their rarity. Quick entrepreneurs use this to attract investment from people from various classes and develop items for investors.
Exchanges are jumping into the NFT market because it is money. NFTs have a 5-20% sales commission, higher than a virtual currency transaction fee of 0.05-0.25%. In addition, as more and more people perceive NFTs as a future investment destination, the market size is also rapidly growing. At the opening of an NFT exchange, which accounts for 80% of the global NFT market share, last month’s transaction amount was $5.8 billion (about 7 trillion won), a record high. Investment banking group Jefferies forecasts that the NFT market will double to $80 billion (about 96 trillion won) by 2025.
On the other hand, the question is whether metaverse platforms, the playground of the MZ generation, and the NFTs, which was like the copyright they needed inside the platform, will develop into speculation. In addition, there are many negative perceptions that it is an unsafe investment destination because the related regulations and policies are not maintained compared to the NFT exchanges emerging like bamboo shoots.
However, such a problem is a critical voice that can be sufficiently present in a society facing a new era to which a new culture is applied. Moreover, the common opinion of experts is that the policies, regulations, and laws to be applied to the new platform can be changed in a relatively short time if the technology becomes popular. Therefore, if we take a little more interest in and welcome new technologies, it is predicted that we will be able to live in a world of new technologies in a short time.
Reference list
Ante, L. (2021). The non-fungible token (NFT) market and its relationship with Bitcoin and Ethereum. SSRN Electronic Journal, 10-230(30).
Chris, C. (2021). NFT art and collectibles for beginners : the must have guide for understanding non fungible tokens (NFTs). Publishing Forte.
Clark, M. (2021). People are spending millions on NFTs. What? Why? [online] The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/22310188/nft-explainer-what-is-blockchain-crypto-art-faq.
Ball, M. (2022). METAVERSE : and how it will revolutionize everything. S.L.: Liveright Publishing Corp.
Shift, D. (2021). Facebook’s Metaverse: How can you be part of it? | Metaverse explanation. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://youtu.be/lqR0u31UxAM [Accessed 5 Mar. 2022].
