NFTs, the Metaverse and the Human Experience

Throughout history, human beings have found many ways to generate economic gains or resources but, today, we are living in such a dynamic cyberworld that the Metaverse has become the protagonist in the game.

We have all been part of it on a greater or lesser scale. For several years now, people and our information have become the main products of companies and, of course, this has resulted in, as we already know, great methods to centralize our experience so that they can personalize what they offer us. Today, we are no longer just that product that generates profits for large companies, we are the ones generating our own content to sell it as a product.

The world of cryptocurrency also has opened the possibility of having other types of investments. NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), for example, are allowing us to open the door to art in a creative way. Our consumption of digital content has empowered people from all industries, boosting their ideas and translating them into ventures.

But for this article, I want to focus on NFTs.

NFTs are an "inimitable" asset in the digital world that can be bought and sold like any other type of property but they have no tangible form of their own. These digital tokens can be understood as certificates of ownership of virtual assets.

It might seem absurd, but my research shows the extent to which goods have been tokenized and sold, to the tune of millions of US dollars: art, whale pictures, memes, videos that only last seconds, the first tweet in history written by the co-founder of Twitter, the original source code for the entire web (www), musical albums and even the first SMS written in 1992.

Why are these things worth so much if they are not tangible?

Cryptographically-unique tokens make it possible to establish the scarcity of digital objects in the real world, which means that although the first tweet in history has been seen by millions of people, only one person owns it, although the copyright belongs to whoever wrote it, only the owner of the NFT has a token that proves that he is the owner of the original piece.

But when we talk about virtual tokens, we are not only talking about NFTs. We are also talking about a term that is better known and used in companies and in the financial sector: ICO, Initial Coin Offerings. These virtual tokens are protected by cryptography that have a value due to their scarcity and demand. They are also a form of financing in which companies offer virtual tokens instead of stocks.

Not only was 1992 the year the first SMS was sent, it was also the year the word Metaverse appeared for the first time, written in a science fiction book and referring to a digital and artificial environment.

And yes, today we all participate in that Metaverse, accessing it through our cellphones, video games and virtual reality headsets.

Certainly, most of us have the constant thought of living in balance with that Metaverse because of our lifestyle, especially in the current world situation, but also because we want to be present in the physical world, return to the natural world and connect with the other human beings with whom we live.

I believe that the two worlds can co-exist. We use the best elements that the technological evolution provides us, while, at the same time, we live in balance with what we can touch, hug, kiss, smell and eat.

But the Metaverse has also allowed enormous possibilities for socialization. This has given companies and people a new way to exchange messages. Coca-Cola has transacted through NFTs. Atari has installed a cryptocurrency casino. The musical group Muse inaugurated the Stageverse Stadium, another Metaverse that is accessed through virtual reality viewers.

How many companies that we work for have had to take advantage of this Metaverse and create their global events, kick-offs and summits in a virtual format?

There are many authors and Wall Street analysts who talk about the importance of using blockchain technology in this digital age and I am going to explain why. Blockchain technology fulfills the function of registering, preserving and protecting information. For example, it is used to conduct cloud operations without losing information, to manage copyright, to have an unfalsifiable repository of information, to verify and authorize bank transactions securely, among others.  

Blockchain allows data to be stored and modified in a secure and verifiable way; therefore, by using these transactions in data blocks the information becomes safer for everyone.

This topic might not be new but it is more current than ever. With all the tools that we have in our hands, we can easily integrate ourselves into these topics that interest us because of what it represents economically and socially. Who knows, maybe some good article that we publish might soon become an NFT. Let the auction begin.