METAVERSE, CRYPTO, WEB 3.0 & BLOCKCHAIN: WHAT ARE THEY, REALLY?

In the last week of 2021 and the first month of 2022, a term became very popular: "Metaverse". So what is that Metaverse? Where is the world going? Does it really make sense to invest to Metaverse now? Let me share with you what I know and my thoughts.

What Is That Metaverse?

Of course I can't answer the other questions without knowing what the Metaverse is. I'm not going to go into boring topics like how the word metaverse came to be, because it is more useful to know what a word means than how it came to be.

You can think of the Metaverse as a virtual universe. People will be able to come together in this universe and do almost everything they can do in real life. Those who are good with games will understand this concept more easily, but of course there are differences with the games.

Let's take Minecraft as an example. Every time you create a new world in Minecraft, you encounter a brand new environment. Or PUBG: there are only a few maps (environments) and it is different from Minecraft in that way. But PUBG also has servers, so you don't encounter every person playing that map at the same time with you. Everyone plays in different worlds that are copies of each other.

But there is only a world (environment) and server in Metaverse. That means if someone tells you a place and says that they are in that place in Metaverse, you can find them by going to that place. That's what sets Metaverse apart from other games.

What Is "Investing In Metaverse?"

Since the Metaverse is almost a virtual universe, there is also investing. For example, you want to own a house in Metaverse? For this you need to own a place in Metaverse. Getting involved is just like in real life.

You determine the place you want to have, you decide how many parcels you will get, and you get it. After you buy it, that place belongs to you, so you can build and do whatever you want there. Of course, these structures do not stand still. You can also organize events here.

But what if the place you want to have has already been taken? Of course you will make an offer to the owner. If the owner accepts your offer, you can own that place.

Everything is OK, but how much and how can we pay?

With crypto, of course: with virtual money.

Just as we can convert physical currencies, we can also convert our physical money into virtual money, crypto. But there is one thing you should pay attention to. You should have that cryptocurrency in your crypto wallet when making a purchase.

Let me tell that more understandably. Decentraland, the most popular Metaverse, has its own currency, and it's called MANA. Your crypto wallet must have MANA cryptocurrency so you can buy land from Decentraland.

So what does crypto wallet mean? Let's give an example. If you don't have USD currency in your wallet, you can't buy anything in the U.S., right? Just like that.

The crypto wallet also shows all the cryptocurrencies you have and how much money you have in those cryptocurrencies.

And blockchain, that's like authorization. For example, there is a blockchain called Polygon and you can use this blockchain on opensea.io and this website uses Ethereum cryptocurrency.

In order to use cryptocurrency Ethereum on OpenSea without gas (I'll tell what gas is), you must have blockchain Polygon.

And it's not that hard to own these blockchains. There is a website called Chainlist. This website has almost every blockchain in the world. You can search for the blockchain you want and have that blockchain.

What Is NFT?

NFT: Non-Fungible Token. Just like digital arts. Someone is selling an art, you buy it. If someone offers you the NFT you own, you can accept the offer and sell it. The virtual auction you know.

So is there a fee to sell them? Of course. But there is also a free one. Here you need to have the Polygon blockchain network to sell for free. Free = no gas fee.

Gas fee is the amount you will pay when putting an art on sale: the transaction fee you know.

So why would you sell for free on one network and for a fee on another? Because the currency in the Polygon network is worth less.

Not going to give real value, but for example: 1 ETH is normally equals 30K dollars, but on Polygon blockchain, 1 ETH equals 3K dollars.

So Seriously, Does It Really Make Sense To Invest In Metaverse & NFTs Now?

In my opinion, there is at least 30 years for life to become popular in Metaverse, and since Metaverse is a new technology, land prices are very expensive.

According to beincrypto.com: "The plot, called Fashion Street Estate, was sold for 618,000 MANA (it equals $1,446,120 as I write this article.) at the end of November 2021. A week after the purchase, its price exceeded $3.5m. However, at the time of writing, the cost of virtual land had fallen back to ~$1.8M."

Isn't That Too Risky?

Yes, it's too risky. But if you don't take risks in life, you probably won't be successful. Yes, the risk is too much, even for those who love risk.

Therefore, if you have money set aside for investment, I recommend making this investment with 1/3 of this money. If you invest your entire asset, you will most likely go bankrupt.

What Is Web 3.0, How Is It Different From The Web 2.0 We Are Using Now, And What Is Its Importance In Terms Of Security?

The concept called Web 3.0 refers to the fully blockchain supported and personalized version of the internet that can be used as decentralized and peer-to-peer.

In the internet system we currently use, that is, in the Web 2.0 system, information is controlled by central powers. All information reaches us through their control. We can access the information we keep in our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter as long as we want. They can close your account completely or take control of your account if they wish.

Of course, the fact that information is in the hands of such centralized powers does not worry people. Today, the rumor that Facebook has opened our personal data to structures such as intelligence units, or vice versa, using it only for its own interests (sharing your information with third parties for advertising and marketing purposes) has become the most discussed topic.

Even Facebook alone has almost all our information with WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook applications.

Algorithms used by social media platforms can work in a way that highlights the thoughts, products or services that are intended to be imposed on you. Since these algorithms are built on getting more attention, more aggressive posts are highlighted. There's even a documentary on Netflix called Social Dilemma that explains this very well.

In Summary

In summary, life becomes virtual, life changes. Concepts are being put forward that will increase our digital security, but the risk also increases with Metaverse. I mean, think carefully before making an investment.

Metaverse is not a game. Invest here if you really want and have money.

And finally, investment = risk.