How to Invest in the Metaverse? Top Metaverse Tokens of 2022

Everyone’s asking how to invest in the metaverse and it’s no surprise why. The global research firm Gartner predicts that 25% of people will spend at least one hour per day in the metaverse by 2026 and the asset manager Grayscale estimates the digital world may grow into a $1 trillion business in the near future. While many millionaires have already been minted thanks to investments in the metaverse, in many ways, we’re still early and there are lots of opportunities for new investors. 

What is the metaverse, really? The next version of the internet…

You’ll be able to teleport your avatar to virtual worlds in the metaverse. A primary school teacher can transport her students to ancient Egypt, you can impress your date with a visit to a digital art museum, and you can visit a DJ Marshmello concert with your friends.

The Washington Post labelled the metaverse the “next version of the internet”. But what does that really mean? The internet is becoming immersive with virtual worlds where humans can interact without the confines of physical space. Unrestrained by physical limitations, the only limit in the metaverse is our imagination. This new frontier will bring incredible opportunities for creators, gamers, developers, artists, and astute investors. 

Today, you can access the metaverse through your computer and mobile screen. But as virtual reality gloves and goggles like Meta’s Oculus improve, the metaverse will become a 360 immersive experience. 

This new digital universe will combine: 

• Cryptocurrency
• Augmented reality (AR)
• Virtual reality (VR)
• Gaming
• Social media

25% of people will spend at least one hour per day in the metaverse by 2026

The global research firm Gartner predicts that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse for work, shopping, education, social and/or entertainment. These billions of new users are the beginning of a new digital economy, as the institutional crypto investment firm Grayscale highlighted. 

1. Web3 lays the foundations for the metaverse

Behind the metaverse is web3. Since day one, the internet has been evolving. The latest epoch in the evolution of the internet is web3. Web3 makes it possible to own land, art, and gaming items in the metaverse—without having to trust any central intermediary. It’s the first time we can truly own property in the digital world. 

The web has passed through three distinct stages: 

• Web1: It’s alive! Most websites were static and slow to load, but it was a groundbreaking technology that has changed the way we live.
• Web2: It’s the internet most of us know today. You provide centralised companies with your content and your data… and they make all the money. 
• Web3: Decentralised apps on web3 let us participate in the digital economy. We own our data—and can earn internet native currencies for being part of an ecosystem. 

2. The metaverse is attracting users

The metaverse is the party that everyone wants to be at right now. Decentralised metaverse users, measured by the number of wallets they’ve created, has increased more than 10x since the start of 2020. If the growth continues on its current path, it’s set to hit Gartner’s expectations of billions of metaverse users by 2026. 

3. These users are supporting an emerging digital economy in the metaverse

Free market capitalism reigns supreme in the metaverse. With NFT marketplaces and virtual real estate, sales are exploding as everyone looks to buy their place in the metaverse. Already, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on digital goods. People are buying everything from virtual sneakers to property. In fact, one investor spent over half a million dollars for a plot of land next to Snoop Dogg in Decentraland. 

How to make money in the metaverse

Huge amounts of money are flowing into the metaverse. Already, many people from across the globe have become self-made millionaires, thanks to being early investors in the metaverse. But where’s the best place to invest now? 

Let’s explore the most popular ways to make money in the metaverse: 

• Buy metaverse tokens like Sandbox and Decentraland.
• Purchase digital real-estate in the metaverse.
• Invest in the underlying metaverse blockchains like Ethereum and Wax.

Top metaverse tokens

As you can see in the Google trends chart above, more and more people are becoming interested in the most popular metaverses like Decentraland and The Sandbox. These are some of the first, and most popular, decentralised metaverses. Now, there are also exciting new metaverses like Alien Worlds and Illuvium. 

Decentraland (MANA)

Decentraland is a decentralised virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain. You can buy your own land or visit one of the many venues built by other users. Already, there are concerts, restaurants, and luxury lounges being built in the metaverse. 

Highlights: 

• All kinds of venues are being built in Decentraland, including art galleries, homes, hangouts, and concert venues. 
• Brands looking to build in Decentraland include Samsung, JPMorgan, and ConsenSys. 
• They're already hosting fashion week and concerts in Decentraland.  

The Sandbox (SAND)

Sandbox (SAND) is one of the leading decentralised metaverses. When you enter The Sandbox, you can own, build, play, and monetise your virtual experiences. Already, some of the world’s most popular brands are launching stores and the biggest stars are performing concerts in the metaverse.

Highlights: 

• Warner Music Group launched a concert venue in the Sandbox metaverse. 
• Someone paid over AU$600k to be Snoop Dogg’s neighbour in the metaverse. 
• The price increased 3226.9% over the past year (as of 11th Feb 2022). 

Illuvium (ILV)

Illuvium is an open-world adventure game built on the Ethereum blockchain. You can build a team within the game, hunting for deity-like creatures called ‘Illuvials’ and searching for the cataclysm that shattered the dystopian landscape. 

Highlights: 

• The game is built by two Australian brothers, Kieran and Aaron Warwick. 
• Zero gas fees when trading in-game items, thanks to a marketplace built on Immutable X. 
• The creatures in the game are inspired by extinct animals. 

Axie Infinity (AXS)

Axie Infinity took the crypto community by storm as its market cap grew by billions of dollars and people across the globe began earning full-time incomes from the play-to-earn game. Thanks to NFT technology, every ‘Axie’ is truly unique and has its own genetic imprint. 

Highlights: 

• The rarest ‘Axies’ have been sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• People have earned full-time incomes playing the game.  
• The game was inspired by the wildly popular Pokemon cards. 

Alien Worlds (TLM)

Alien Worlds is a decentralised metaverse where players can collect NFTs as they complete missions across the universe. It combines elements of DeFi and NFTs to create an engaging metaverse. 

Highlights: 

• One of the most popular blockchain games in the world with over 1 million current users.
• Players can form Planet Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (Planet DAOs)
• Make money and friends in the social metaverse. 

Purchase digital real-estate in the metaverse

In some of the metaverses listed above, you can buy virtual real estate—a plot of land in the metaverse that’s represented by an NFT. Much like the real world, there are three things that matter most in digital real estate: location, location, location. In fact, one Sandbox user paid over half a million dollars to be Snoop Dogg’s neighbor. 

 Which land to buy? Andrew Kiguel, CEO of Toronto-based Tokens.com, has invested millions of dollars into metaverse real estate. Kiguel shared, “There are areas when you first go into the metaverse where people congregate — those areas would certainly be a lot more valuable than the areas that don’t have any events going on.”

Popular metaverses to buy land in include: 

• Decentraland
• The Sandbox

Invest in the underlying metaverse blockchains

While you can invest in a particular metaverse such as Decentraland, you can also invest in the underlying blockchain that these metaverses mint NFTs on to store ownership of virtual land and in-game items. As these metaverses become more popular, they naturally increase the demand for the tokens of the blockchain they are built on top of. 

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is the most popular layer 1 blockchain for the leading metaverses. In fact, all five of the above projects, Decentraland, The Sandbox, Illuvium, Axie Infinity, and Alien Worlds, interact with the Ethereum blockchain. 

Solana (SOL)

Newer than Ethereum and designed to be more scalable from the outset, Solana has a number of metaverse projects being built on it. The key difference between Ethereum and Solana is that in-game items on the Solana blockchain are interoperable, meaning that users can take their NFTs to multiple metaverses. 

Avalanche (AVAX)

Much like Solana, Avalanche is another newer smart contract platform that has a rapidly growing ecosystem. With over 4,500 transactions per second and sub-two-second finality, the network can support high-performance metaverse worlds. 

BNB Chain (BNB)

With lower fees than many other chains, BNB Chain has grown rapidly. The low fees help make it easy for new users to explore the metaverses and purchase in-game items. Notably, Alien Worlds has used BNB Chain along with Ethereum. 

Wax  (WAXP)

Worldwide Asset Exchange (WAXP) is a decentralised marketplace that makes it easy for users to exchange digital assets like NFTs and gaming assets, making it a great platform for a metaverse to use. Already, the platform features collectibles from Sony pictures, Atari, AMC Theatres, Hasbro, Bratz, and more. 

Terra Virtua Kolect (TVK)

Terra Virtual Kolect blockchain is specifically built to be a marketplace for mobile, AR, and AR collectibles. That makes it an ideal platform for metaverses to leverage. 

Where is the best place to buy metaverse coins in Australia?

The best place to buy metaverse coins is on a crypto exchange like Cointree. You can buy the metaverse tokens using Australian dollars and then securely store them in your free crypto wallet. 

How to buy metaverse crypto

You can buy metaverse coins like Decentraland (MANA) and The Sandbox (SAND) on Cointree in as little as five minutes. All you need to do is create an account, verify your identity, deposit AUD, and make your trade. It’s that easy! 

Ready to invest in the metaverse?

You don’t have to visit the metaverse to invest in it. In fact, many of the highest portfolio returns have been achieved by people who believed in the vision for the metaverse and were early investors. However, with Gartner predicting that billions of people will enter the metaverse in the next five years, in many ways, we’re still early.