Metaverse real estate sizzles as virtual land boom takes off
Interest grows after Facebook targeted digital frontier
Justin Bieber performed at a live concert in November, but the show wasn’t in a stadium or arena. Like recent performances from Ariana Grande, the Weeknd and Travis Scott, this concert was held in the metaverse, the online world that stretches the corners of the internet into immersive, four-dimensional experiences.
Fans from all over the globe watched Bieber’s avatar sing songs from his hit album “Justice.” Investors were watching, too. Preparing for a digital land boom that appears just months
away, they are snapping up concert venues, shopping malls and other properties in the metaverse.
Interest in this digital universe skyrocketed in October when Mark Zuckerberg
announced Facebook would be known as Meta, an effort to capitalize on the digital frontier. The global market for goods and services in the metaverse will soon be worth $1 trillion, according to digital currency investor Grayscale.
The metaverse comprises multiple digital realms. Each is like a 3D virtual city where avatars live, work and play. Anyone who has been exposed to popular video games like ‘Fortnite,’ ‘Animal Crossing’ and the ‘Roblox’ universe has had a taste of what these realms look like. In each, elements including virtual reality, streaming video, mobile gaming, avatars and artificial intelligence are combined into immersive digital experiences.
But real estate investing in the metaverse still is highly speculative, and no one knows for sure whether this boom is the next big thing or the next big bubble.
Technologists believe the metaverse will grow into a fully functioning economy