In recent times, we have seen that both the news and technological trends have focused on a term unknown to many, but that has quickly emerged as the metaverse. This is no longer fiction and is becoming a reality. Many companies have joined this movement and have created their own metaverse proposals. The sectors include design, architecture, fashion, entertainment, retail and others. It’s likely to continue and Angelo Babb, an expert in cryptocurrency and blockchains, discusses some of the changes that could come next year.

The possibilities the metaverse offers are so diverse that they range from attending virtual concerts, shopping, traveling, making transactions, going to the movies, trying on clothes, changing the way of working, creating new forms of branding and much more.

This digital universe is going to expand our borders to a much more interactive and massively promoted alternative reality. And one of its main features is that it contains a full-fledged economy and encompasses the physical and virtual worlds, so it will be decentralized.

Here comes the main connection between the metaverse and NFTs, as they are related to digital assets and how they are given value. The metaverse allows creators to showcase digital forms of art and property, and the NFTs will be in charge of putting a price on that content with proof of ownership.

Explains Babb, “The emergence of numerous NFT markets is making it a phenomenon in many industries. In fact, in some metaverses that are based on blockchain, they allow users to have properties that do not exist in real life.”

In this sense, the vast majority of games in which it is possible to establish social relationships, participate in various activities and trade digital goods through virtual currencies or tokens. With blockchain, they have become places where an entirely digital real economy can develop. In this sense, non-fungible tokens (NFT) are used by users as digital assets representing the property, which has led some metaverses to amass sales worth hundreds of millions of euros or dollars.

The ability of NFT to represent ownership makes these digital assets attract investor interest. Thus, virtual worlds are filled with owners willing to pay the value of real estate for a digital one. This is like buying into a sector with growth prospects and an ambitious urban plan. NFT holders are the first interested in the market rising in price.

The idea of ​​the metaverse and avatars, as proposed by the greats of the digital world, can only work if we are sure that the users with whom we communicate are real people. Not only that, but also if those people present themselves genuinely, that is, not lying about their gender or age. Clearly, this kind of virtual world cannot exist securely without some version of continuous authentication.

Adds Babb, “This idea of ​​an autonomous and portable identity based on blockchain would break with the custom we currently have of handing over our personal data to centralized organizations.” The goal can be explained very simply: the metaverse is to verify the user while protecting the privacy of their personal information and preventing identity fraud.

To do this, digital identity verification processes have been proposed that cover the entire user journey through the metaverse. The incorporation of the avatar, the re-verification and the continuous surveillance are essential steps to ensure that a user is who they say they are in each and every one of the phases. When someone does something as an avatar, an identity and vitality check should be done in the background.

In short, much remains to be seen in relation to the subject of the metaverses. What is clear is that from now on, if you have a favorite clothing brand, it is very likely that you can wear it in the virtual world. This is highlighted by Nike, which has already filed several trademark applications with the intention of selling its clothing in the metaverse.