The One Who Controls The Metaverse Will Control The World
by It’s less than 2 weeks since the inaugural metaverse conference was held in Dubai where different delegates expressed their concerns and future plans with the metaverse.
“ The one who controls the metaverse will control the world, but of course with the utmost compliance, safety, and security measures in place.”
Al Marwan Al Zarouni, CEO Dubai Blockchain Center said.
The only way to understand this statement is by looking into the evolution of social engagement on the internet.
Started from plain boring text messages to interact with explicit pictures, to interactive videos, and now with live real-time videos.
This means that with the opportunity to have real-time conversations with anyone in the world, feeling like you’re just in the same location makes sense for people to adopt in the long run.
The fact that you can buy real estate in the metaverse with the click of a button despite your geolocation solidifies why the metaverse will soon be a sensation.
Now, let’s look into September updates in the metaverse space.
New offices for the UAE Ministry of Economy have opened in the Metaverse.
The new headquarters will complement the ministry’s two current locations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and enable it to expand its use of digital services in line with instructions from UAE leadership.
Signatories won’t need to travel to one of their physical sites to submit their signatures because they can sign legally binding documents online at the virtual headquarter
The headquarters also has conference rooms with screen-sharing capabilities and an auditorium that can host virtual conferences and other events.
Walmart gets a foot in the metaverse
A major retailer, Walmart entered the Metaverse by releasing Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play on the Roblox video game.
This now marks a complete 10 solid retail giants exploring the metaverse.
Blackrock develops its crypto portfolio with the metaverse
According to the filing on Thursday, investors will have access to companies that are focused on the metaverse through BlackRock’s iShares Future Metaverse Tech and Communications ETF.
Businesses having ties to social media, virtual platforms, digital assets, gaming, augmented reality, and much more may fall under this category.
For issuers of exchange-traded products, the metaverse, which blends technology like virtual reality and NFTs, has taken center stage. In recent times, competing US companies like ProShares and Swiss-based 21Shares have both introduced their own Metaverse ETFs.
Dedicated Metaverse Team Created by Disney to Investigate “New Storytelling Frontier”
Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke on the company’s plans for Disney’s metaverse earlier this month at the D23 Expo fan convention, according to Deadline: “We call it next-generation storytelling.”
The M word has a lot of hair on it, so we don’t use it very often. However, Disney+ will evolve into an experience lifestyle platform and stop being only a platform for movie services. a framework that allows the entire firm to represent both the tangible experiences you would have in a theme park and the digital ones you could have through media.”
After briefly mentioning the potential existence of “an experiential platform,” the CEO continued to discuss the company’s plans to make it possible for everyone, including those who are unable to visit Disney properties and events, to virtually experience “something that’s comparable to a physical experience.”
A Chinese university establishes a metaverse major and names a department after the technology
The university and Yalong Intelligent Equipment Group came to an agreement in August to establish a Metaverse Research Institute. Yalong is a company that offers business solutions for robots and digital transformation.
In general, the term “metaverse” refers to a collection of technologies that relate to interacting with virtual worlds. Cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are two examples of virtual assets that will be used in the metaverse.
Sports metaverse firm receives $200 million in funding
Gem Global Yield committed $200 million to the sports metaverse firm LootMogul, giving it a share subscription facility of up to $200 million for a 36-month period after a stock exchange listing.
The funding is anticipated to accelerate the growth of LootMogul’s metaverse for sports games, according to the company. This will include “building meta (virtual) sports cities around the world with real-world benefits, brands, & professional athletes on a true cross metaverse & blockchain (multichain) platform on multiple devices such as Oculus, HoloLens, Web, Mobile & Console,” the company said in a statement.
Metaverse and VR are at the forefront as the Tokyo Game Show begins.
The term “metaverse” has gained popularity in the gaming industry and beyond as more businesses, including banks and game developers, have started to recognize the commercial potential of a virtual environment where users can go shopping, attend events, and connect with one another virtually anywhere.
Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. said during the keynote address that it is creating a metaverse based on the Gundam robot from its well-known anime.
“We aim to establish a location where enthusiasts from all over the world may congregate and communicate.”
Koji Fujiwara, the organization’s “Chief Gundam Officer,” stated
Chipotle Restaurants introduces a new dish in the metaverse
Chipotle restaurants launch their new garlic Guajillo steak complete with an interactive cooking experience that anyone can virtually taste test the delicacies. The goal was to teach Gen Z how their food is made offering incentives for Roblox users.
The company makes history by becoming the first restaurant to launch a new product in the metaverse. Got over 5M more views on Roblox just after the launch
DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, Joins the Metaverse
The biggest bank in Southeast Asia, DBS, claims to be “Singapore’s first bank to enter into the metaverse.” “The metaverse presents great prospects to alter how we live, work, and engage with each other,” a DBS executive said.
The largest bank in Southeast Asia, DBS, disclosed a partnership with The Sandbox on Friday. The Sandbox is a virtual environment where users can create, control, and make money from their game experiences using the Ethereum blockchain.
According to the statement, the partnership’s goal is “to create DBS Better Society, an interactive metaverse experience emphasizing the necessity of building a better, more sustainable world, and inviting others to participate alongside.”
Ford is getting ready to enter the Metaverse with digital cars and NFTs.
American automaker Ford Motor Company has filed 19 trademark applications across its key automobile brands as it prepares to enter the world of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and the Metaverse.
Mike Kondoudis, a trademark attorney licensed by the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO), disclosed in a tweet on Wednesday that the business had submitted a total of 19 trademark applications covering its car brands, including Mustang, Bronco, Lincoln, Explorer, and F-150 Lightning, among others.
The trademark applications include a projected online marketplace for NFTs as well as virtual versions of automobiles, trucks, vans, SUVs, and clothes for its businesses.
Meta to Launch 10 Metaverse Campuses as Part of $150 Million Immersive Learning Project
Universities are getting their own virtual reality campuses online with the help of Meta, the social media business that focuses on the metaverse.
As a part of its Immersive Learning project, which aims to bring education into virtual reality settings, the corporation will launch ten virtual campuses. Meta will contribute $150 million to this project in collaboration with the virtual reality education business Victoryxr, based in Iowa.
In order for students to participate in the courses, Meta is giving these groups a donation of its Meta Quest headsets. By collaborating with businesses and academic institutions, Meta’s Immersive Learning project hopes to enhance students’ access to these tools.
As part of its $150 million investment, Meta will provide headsets in collaboration with Victoryxr, the firm creating the campuses for the metaverse.
Additionally, Meta has assisted universities with funding the design and construction of these areas, which can run as much as $50,000 for a campus with five to seven buildings. Victoryxr’s founder, Steve Grubbs, said:
South Korea increases its efforts to impose Metaverse regulation.
South Korea keeps getting more and more involved in Web3 and the Metaverse. The nation’s government is currently putting the finishing touches on the Metaverse Industry Promotion Ac after spending close to $200 million building its own metaverse ecosystem and disseminating the “Metaverse Ethical Principles.”
According to local media on September 1, Heo Eun-ah, a National Assembly member with a history in business, advocated passing the Metaverse Industry Promotion Act to aid the Web3 sector.
The bill stipulates that the policies promoting Metaverse development in the nation would be discussed by the Metaverse Policy Review Committee, which reports to the Prime Minister, while the Minister of Science and Information and Communication Technologies would be responsible for defining a final plan every three years.
The bill also addresses the incentives for businesses that move their operations to the Metaverse while meeting the excellence standards like safeguarding user data
Data from the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technologies indicates that in 2023, the government will spend 195.4 billion won (about $140 million) on key Metaverse-related projects. The Ministry announced in February that the Expanded Virtual World platform would get 223.7 billion won ($186.7 million).
Funding for the Chinese Metaverse Industry Amounts to $780 Million
China’s metaverse sector has reportedly raised $780 million (5.46 billion yuan) in finance, according to local media reports. About 20 provinces or cities, in addition to 160,000 “Chinese virtual human enterprises,” are already providing support for the metaverse, the paper said.
Additionally, according to a report on the Chinese language news website, it is anticipated that the Chinese metaverse’s market could reach $5.8 trillion by 2030. According to the report, two top video game businesses in China, Netease Yaotai and internet behemoth Tencent are fighting to find new ways to expand the metaverse.
Animoca Japan raises $45 million, Taco Bell wants you to get married in the Metaverse, and more
Taco Bell and Decentraland, a metaverse platform, are collaborating to give American-based couples the opportunity to get married in the Metaverse. Engaged couples are encouraged to enter a contest for a chance to win the chain’s first officially recognized Metaverse wedding package, which includes a ceremony and celebration in the virtual world of Decentraland.
The ceremony and celebration will NFT invite and specially-made wedding clothing, according to Taco Bell.
Virtual guests will be allowed to attend the wedding, and they will be able to participate in all the customary wedding day festivities, including dancing, eating (virtual food), and enjoying the musical entertainment.
Between August 25 and September 6, engaged couples can enter the contest for a chance to win the company’s first metaverse wedding package.
According to the press statement, Taco Bell will live stream the entire event, and the pair will then receive a marriage certificate memento NFT. A certified wedding officiant will oversee the union, which will be legal.
In summary, The metaverse is well positioned to become a $5T industry by 2030 and only the smart money are seeing the opportunities and have the resources to create the infrastructure.
Remember, all this happened in just one month. Make sure you check out the first African-based Metaverse Summit on the 28th of October 2022.