Different Ways To Invest Money In The Metaverse

• In the last few years, the metaverse has become a hot topic.
• Investors can invest directly (through NFTs and crypto), indirectly (stocks and shares), or through ETFs in the metaverse.

Metaverse is the virtual dream; real tech giants are dreaming and investing their energy, technology, and money in it. Although the work on the concept had been going on for several years, it all happened behind closed doors, with just the R&D team and tech enthusiasts as the only audience. 

However, it became a household name when Facebook rebranded itself as Meta and laid out its future intentions. Since then, the flower has attracted several bees, all hoping to get a few drops of its sweet nectar and build their businesses. These include not only tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, and Meta, who only have a division working for them, but also several emerging companies with their only focus on the metaverse.

Metaverse is made by the conjunction of Meta, meaning beyond, and verse, as in the universe. So basically, it is a virtual space that is beyond the universe we are living in and accessible with the technologies of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). This virtual space will be inhabited by Avatars, our virtual form, who will engage in all activities we do now, like commerce, leisure, entertainment, and business. 

Seeing the massive interest and growth in this sector, investors are finding ways to put money into the technology. There are two methods of investing which are direct and indirect. The direct calls for buying digital assets like NFTs and cryptocurrencies in the metaverse follow the token-based economic model (tokenomics). The indirect calls for purchasing shares and stocks of companies that have products and services directly affect the metaverse. 

The Indirect Way

This category can be further subdivided based on the diverse interests and contributions of the companies. The first is technology, which has companies engaged in research, development, and innovation in the sector. They have also released AR and VR headsets, which are the primary hardware needed to access the metaverse. The list includes Meta, Microsoft, and Apple as the top players in the category. 

The gaming sector is all set to revolutionize with the integration of the metaverse, allowing gamers to have unimaginable experiences. This sector is considered to be the most attached due to the direct application of the metaverse in it, compared to education, healthcare, and other sectors. Companies are working on developing high-engaging AAA games and Roblox, Tencent and Activision Blizzard come out as the top players here. 

Metaverse requires a high technological base to run complex algorithms and perform actions that are, until now, not performed on the computers we use. These require high-processing graphic chips and many even consider these chips to be the primary element needed to realize the metaverse dream. Thus, the products of chip manufacturers like Nvidia and Qualcomm will be in high demand in the future. 

For imitating the real world around us, developers need to depend on software capable of creating scenes, buildings, properties, and much else. Also, as the metaverse is perceived to be infinite, developers should be able to offer seamless creation of this digital world. Autodesk and Unity Software are two companies excelling in this direction. 

The Direct Way

Investors can also buy virtual assets Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies to stay ahead of others. NFTs represent artwork, collectibles, texts, images, videos, songs, and so many others and are sure to impact the metaverse. Similarly, Decentraland and Sandbox are two platforms that offer the ownership of virtual property and several methods to monetize this property. 

Conclusion

Along with the aforementioned methods, users can also invest through metaverse ETFs like Subversive, Roundhill Ball, and ProShares. It is to be noted that the metaverse is still in its infancy and, like any other investment, comes with its share of risks. Investors must perform thorough research and then finally settle on the one, that aligns with their vision and goals.