Interest in the Web3 metaverse has gone up tremendously in recent months. With the growing adoption of NFTs and an influx of new communities through NFT platforms, users are joining in droves. Furthermore, with NFT art and gaming as an on-ramp, people are seeing the advantages of participating in the Web3 metaverse.
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) started the hype around the Web3 metaverse. Moreover, smart contracts and token standards such as ERC-721 and ERC-1155 provided a way for people to sell and transfer unique digital artwork online. Hence, a new monetization model for digital objects was born. What’s more, the Web3 metaverse offers something that encompasses the entire virtual world where the best of interactive design, digital art, AR, VR, blockchain, gaming, tokenization, and crypto meet. With this, interest in the wider implications of such virtual lands that use, trade, and interact with tokens and digital assets emerged.
Joining the Web3 Metaverse
There are many ways to join the exciting world inside the Web3 metaverse. You could be a gamer exploring opportunities through play-to-earn (P2E), or you could be an artist, athlete, or celebrity wanting to sell NFT art on a marketplace. Also, you could simply be an entrepreneur looking for the next big thing. In addition, there are numerous ways you can join Web3’s metaverse as a programmer. You can be a Unity game designer or a blockchain developer using any of the popular blockchains, such as Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, and others, to develop phenomenal metaverse dapps.
It’s an ecosystem of diverse roles and objectives. However, it attracts so many builders, creators, fans, and followers because its incentives make sense. Furthermore, as the Web3 metaverse is the subject of countless memes circulating on social media, it syncs with pop cultures.
What is the Web3 Metaverse?
People tend to combine the “Web3” and “metaverse” terms together. Some people think they mean the same thing. However, to fully understand them – each with its history and connotation – they need to be defined individually.
Moreover, “Web3 metaverse” is such a large concept anyway that it naturally begs to be broken down into its distinct parts. That way, blockchain developers, gamers, users, and crypto enthusiasts can understand it better.
What is Web3?
For newcomers interested in decentralization and blockchain, Web3 is a new buzzword that needs to be explained. In fact, most people who believe they understand it still need clarity on what Web3 is. The truth is, Web3 is still evolving. It’s being defined by developers and users alike. Hence, it’s important to understand that Web3 is a moving target more than it is an idea set in stone. What’s more, as the technology evolves, so does the concept surrounding Web3.
In short, Web3 is all about decentralization in the age of the internet. It encompasses all the technologies that enable such decentralization, including (or especially) blockchain. Moreover, one could also define Web3 as a conglomeration of blockchains. In addition, Web3 wallets such as MetaMask have a significant role to play in this ecosystem, as they allow the onboarding and authentication of new users through blockchain addresses.
Furthermore, Web3 is a movement towards a more democratized internet. Where governance is required, experimental models are taking over. For example, a “decentralized autonomous organization” (DAO) has become an important emerging model within the Web3 ecosystem. In a DAO, users vote on key issues and protocol changes, and users can have skin in the game using tokens. Hence, DAOs represent the decentralization of internet-based governance. Moreover, they add an economic dimension to it all. Want to know more about a DAO smart contract and how to create a DAO? Be sure to check out the related articles on the Moralis blog.
Advantages of Web3 over Web2
Some people in the blockchain and larger fintech space refer to internet history in three stages: Web1, Web2, and Web3. Web1 refers to the initial creation of the worldwide web. Web2 refers to the user-generated web era or platforms that require centralized governance. Furthermore, Web2 is characterized as an older version in social media threads – notably one that needs changing. Web3 establishes the new ideal of collecting as little information on users as possible. Moreover, it reduces the dependence on any single entity to run a platform. In other words, the objective of Web3 is to reduce the risk of any single entity destroying a network or having excessive control over a platform for any reason.
Whether in terms of ownership, platform governance, or information access, Web3 systemically reduces the chances for any single entity to take over an ecosystem. Thus, one can understand how the movement has gained a significant following.
What is the Metaverse?
The idea of the metaverse preceded the time of crypto and blockchains. One could argue that it was born at the advent of the internet itself. However, a metaverse, or as it’s commonly called now “the metaverse”, is simply a virtual world.
The first known mention of the “metaverse” was in the sci-fi novel “Snow Crash”. Authored by Neal Stephenson, the novel was the first to describe a virtual reality scenario. The concept has further evolved through the years. Moreover, the influence of pop culture has morphed the idea into that which our current generation perceives today.
Right now, the word “metaverse” connotes a multi-dimensional and immersive virtual experience. Furthermore, it’s demonstrated by platforms such as Roblox, Fortnite, and recently, widely popular Web3 games such as Axie Infinity.
Use Cases of Web3 Metaverse Crypto Payments
In the virtual Web3 realm, there is a high frequency of transactions. Moreover, anyone familiar with the Web3 metaverse will tell you that crypto payments are part of how the whole thing works. Without a unit of account or incentive system to reward players, the Web3 metaverse wouldn’t be able to keep its users engaged and entertained. Hence, crypto in the Web3 metaverse is crucial to the ecosystem.
Successful gaming worlds in the metaverse already utilize some form of virtual commerce. Crypto in the Web3 metaverse executing this exchange or commerce is enabled by blockchain technology. More specifically, crypto token standards in the metaverse such as ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155 represent distinct monetary functions and tradable goods in the Web3 metaverse.
Crypto payments in the Web3 metaverse form the vital incentive and backbone of the Web3 realm. Moreover, they provide a way for players to earn and cash out, as demonstrated in GameFi and play-to-earn (P2E) models. Furthermore, such tokenized transactions or payment systems serve as users’ “skin in the game”. As a result, it enables players to increase their stake and be involved in a wider economic system. This lets them use their monetary rewards even outside of the Web3 metaverse.
Web3 crypto payments in the metaverse may be exchanged or cashed out via decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Furthermore, they may be staked on DeFi platforms. Hence, such payments are a true bridge between tokenized gaming models and the wider ecosystem of cryptocurrencies.
This capability to move payments outside previously closed ecosystems is what distinguishes Web3 metaverse crypto payments from other forms of payments. Thus, there’s a viral shareability aspect to such tokens and unique digital goods unheard of with previous in-game exchanges and payment methods.
General Use Cases
While the Web3 metaverse is still early, it is already presenting important use cases for crypto payments, such as:
- Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Transactions – The metaverse can facilitate the trading of assets, tokens, or crypto between individual users without a central intermediary.
- Business-to-Business (B2B) Transactions – Businesses, creators, or manufacturers can market their products in virtual worlds. They can hold meetings that lead to sales and partnerships in the Web3 metaverse.
- Business-to-Consumer (B2C) – Businesses or creators can directly sell their products in a virtual space to users. Also, deliveries can be facilitated through Web3 metaverse platforms.
The implications of Web3 metaverse crypto payments are massive. Furthermore, there are numerous subcategories for every major application. Hence, the Web3 metaverse is rife with opportunities for developers who want to create new paradigms by merging gaming with crypto.
Create Web3 Metaverse Apps with Moralis
With Moralis’ Metaverse SDK, developers can build Web3 metaverse applications and leap ahead of the competition. Moralis presents the most powerful Web3 metaverse SDK to date, with features that merge the best of simplicity, ease, security, and scalability. Furthermore, it’s the best way to develop new dapps quickly, ensuring that you reach the market before your competitors.
Build Web3 Metaverse Dapps with the Best Tools
How does Moralis enable you to build dapps at unprecedented speed? Here are some examples of how Moralis’ tools can simplify your journey significantly:
1. Moralis Speedy Nodes
With Moralis, you don’t need to set up your blockchain node(s) from scratch. Moralis Speedy Nodes offers you a fast, secure, and convenient way to connect with the top blockchains. As such, whether you need to connect to Ethereum nodes, BSC nodes, Polygon nodes, Avalanche nodes, Arbitrum nodes, or all of the above, Moralis Speedy Nodes gives you a one-stop, plug-and-play solution.
2. Native IPFS Support
When dealing with NFTs, you’ll need a storage system to handle your metadata. Moralis’ native IPFS support enables decentralized storage for your Web3 metaverse app.
3. Moralis’ NFT API
What is the Moralis NFT API? It’s the ultimate solution for retrieving information regarding NFTs, including:
- NFT metadata
- NFT prices
- Ownership data of NFTs
- Transfer data
- User information
- And much more!
What’s more, the Moralis NFT API is cross-chain compatible. As such, you don’t have to worry about blockchain compatibility. It’s a convenient solution for any NFT project, including if you want to build an NFT rarity ranking dapp or create an NFT marketplace.
Find the complete NFT API documentation here: https://github.com/nft-api/nft-api.
4. Web3 Game Design with Unity
Have you ever wondered how to build a medieval metaverse game? Or create the next play-to-earn (P2E) hit? Moralis enables Web3 integration with the world’s leading game development platform, Unity. If you’re a Unity developer, you can use Moralis’ simplified tools to help you bring your game into the Web3 metaverse.
5. NFT Game Development Resources
Moralis offers numerous tutorials on NFT game development. Some of these tutorials include setting up Web3 user authentication, creating simple NFT game graphics, and developing a metaverse smart contract.
Moralis also provides you with boilerplates that are ready to use. These will speed up your NFT game development process further. One of these is our popular Ethereum Unity boilerplate.
6. Cross-Chain Interoperability
In the past, building dapps compatible with multiple blockchains was a difficult task. Today, Moralis offers native cross-chain infrastructure, so it’s easy to build cross-chain dapps. As such, you can select a blockchain with a couple of clicks!
Web3 Metaverse – Summary
The term “Web3 metaverse” means different things to different people. That’s because it encompasses such a wide range of interactions, experiences, and applications. Furthermore, Web3 metaverse participants play such a diverse set of roles that there’s room for different capabilities and objectives.
One of the most interesting aspects of the Web3 metaverse is the myriad use cases for crypto payments. Moreover, crypto assets in games connected to Web3 can be moved outside of gaming platforms, broadening use cases and opportunities. This sets GameFi and Web3 metaverse games apart from other ecosystems – the ability to cross over to financial platforms.
To create phenomenal dapps for the Web3 metaverse, you need a reliable platform that lets you build natively cross-chain dapps to maximize compatibility. Moreover, the platform should allow you to focus on your creative side while it takes care of the heavy lifting on the backend. Working with blockchains from scratch is notoriously tedious. However, with a powerful Web3 development platform such as Moralis, you no longer need to live in the dark ages of hard-to-manage blockchain infrastructure.
With Moralis’ powerful Metaverse SDK, any blockchain developer can propel their gaming project to new heights. These days, it’s impractical to handle all the hassles of setting up blockchain nodes or deal with the limitations of RPC nodes. Such efforts are time-consuming and do not focus on the Web3 metaverse gaming experience.
With Moralis, you can skip the clunky backend infrastructure process. You can go straight to creating an excellent dapp, NFT trading platform, NFT game, DeFi platform, decentralized exchange (DEX), or whatever you can dream of. What’s more, you save precious development time. Hence, Moralis helps you launch your product markedly quicker and earn the first-mover advantage! Start exploring today; you’ll discover much more when you sign up with Moralis!
