Metaverse: what it is, how to enter, security

When you hear about Metaverso it seems a bit like going back to the seventies and eighties, ie the dawn of the Internet, understood as a new form of communication. At that time many people talked about it, but in reality there were few people who knew what it was and how it would work. The same, for better or for worse, happens today.

If you ask a person what the Metaverse is, you will probably receive confused answers: some will tell you that it is the new company of Mark Zuckerberg, others will answer you a cryptocurrency, still others an unspecified virtual reality. Nor does the fragmentary news relaunched by the Italian mass media help, confirming that there is still so much confusion on the subject.

This is why we have thought of a practical guide on the Metaverse, with which we will try to explain the new digital universe in simple words to those who still don’t know what it is.

What is the Metaverse

The Metaverse is a parallel place to the physical one, where a person is able to spend their digital life. In the’digital universe individuals exist in the form of avatar: living in the Metaverse therefore means leaving the real world, as well as the physical body, and entering a new dimension by interacting as an avatar and with other avatars.

Origin of the word Metaverse

The word Metaverse appears for the first time in 1992, within the book Snow Crash by the American science fiction author Neal Stephenson. Then the concept of Metaverse translated into one virtual reality shared with the Internetwhere each was represented in 3D by their own avatar.

Stephenson’s idea, therefore, does not differ much from today’s conception: despite this, it is only in the last few years that we hear about the Metaverse with increasing frequency. And also this time there is the hand of Mark Zuckerberg.

The Zuckerberg Metaverse

On October 28, 2021 Mark Zuckerberg presents Meta, announcing the rebranding of the company, which will no longer be called Facebook Inc. but precisely Meta. On the same day Zuckerberg describes the Metaverse project, comparing it to a social and interconnected environmentwhere people can experience a new form of interaction e transfer part of its business.

In Zuckerberg’s Metaverse people, indeed avatars meet, work, play: all this simply by wearing augmented reality glasses, virtual reality viewers, or by downloading certain applications from smartphones, computers or other devices.

Several experts believe that the Metaverse will erase the differences between physical and virtual life, giving anyone the chance to travel online, buy digital clothes, attend a virtual concert and even create works of art.

The new 3D digital universe also represents an opportunity to make the revolution of the work from home. How? By developing virtual offices where workers, in the form of avatars, participate in online meetings and interact with colleagues from other companies. In this sense, Meta recently presented Horizon Workrooms, a software for business meetings to be used with Oculus proprietary viewers.

Metaverse and cryptovalute

If it is true that the Metaverse is to be considered as a three-dimensional experience of physical reality, it is equally true that it will encompass purchases and sales. And in this, cryptocurrencies, or rather the tokens of the multiverse, will play a fundamental role.

the cryptocurrencies of the Metaverse allow you to invest in virtual universes and earn while playing. In fact, they are indispensable for making digital transactions in the new reality.

Only in 2021 did they record growth in the order of 40,000%, testifying to the infinite potential connected to the Metaverse. In 2022, the trend will continue to be positive, albeit with much lower percentages than in the previous twelve months (a value of around + 500% is estimated).

What are the best metaverse crypto to invest in? At the moment, experts recommend focusing on MANA (for the Decentraland metaverse), AXS (for the Axie Infinity virtual reality platform) and SAND (for The Sandbox). Both MANA and AXS are available for purchase through Crypto.com, one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges.

How to enter the Metaverse

To enter the Metaverse it is necessary register on the sites The download apps that allow you to access the new digital universe. It is not mandatory to have a virtual reality headset, even if having one allows you to live a more immersive and engaging experience. Of course, before buying a VR headset, you need to make sure the device is suitable for the desired metaverse.

The best sites to enter the Metaverse are:

Living the experience of the three metaverses just mentioned also requires the possession of a specific cryptocurrency and a crypto wallet, the cryptographic wallet for managing cryptocurrencies.

Note: The Facebook Metaverse is not yet accessible. When it is, to enter you will need a Facebook account, the virtual reality headset Quest 2 (here the guide on how to connect the Oculus Quest headset to the PC) and the use of the Spark AR software through which it is possible to create assets to be managed in the new digital world.

How to enter Decentraland

Decentraland, also known as DAO (acronym for Decentralized Autonomous Organization), is a decentralized metaverse in the hands of users who are in possession of one or more assets in virtual reality. To actively participate in the Decentraland metaverse, it is necessary to have a cryptocurrency wallet and the MANA cryptocurrency, both of which are essential for the purchase of land.

If, on the other hand, you only want to take a look as a guest, connect to the official website of Decentraland, click on the button “Get Started” and click “Play as guest”. Then you will have to create your avatar, through the instructions of the wizard.

How to get into The Sandbox

After being a simple video game for years, from 2021 following the acquisition by Animoca Brands, The Sandbox it’s a blockchain metaverse. Users who decide to participate in The Sandbox metaverse are able to create objects in the voxel style, play, program and sell their creations through a convenient internal marketplace.

To enter The Sandbox just connect to the sandbox.game official website, press the button “Sign In” to complete the registration of a new account. Access methods also include Facebook, Twitter, Google and Metamask (a crypto wallet for computers).

Note: at the time of writing, Season 2 has ended, which is still in the alpha phase of development. So to actively try The Sandbox you need to wait for the release of a new season (the possible Season 3) or the opening of a new development phase, for example from alpha to beta.

How to enter Axie Infinity

The metaverse of Axie Infinity is based on the Ethereum blockchain. To be able to access it, you must first have a cryptocurrency wallet (the official guide of Axie Infinity suggests MetaMask), where you can host the AXS tokens, with which transactions are carried out within virtual reality.

The second step is to create a new Axie Infinity account: connected to the marketplace page, by clicking on the link just indicated, press the button “Log in”, then log in using your MetaMask digital wallet credentials. Once your account is registered, choose the nickname you want to call yourself with and set an email address and password.

The next step requires the creation of a Ronin wallet: Ronin is the digital place after transactions and activities take place in the Axie Infinity metaverse. Once this is done, connect the newly created wallet to your account and that’s it. For the detailed procedure follow the steps in the official guide.

Is the Metaverse dangerous?

Since Mark Zuckerberg with Meta and the high American big techs are accelerating on projects linked to different virtual realities, the security issue of the Metaverse has been at the center of the debate among experts in new technologies and public opinion.

Critics of the Facebook Metaverse associate the word with the project dystopiaunderlining on the one hand the control aspects of the platform, on the other hand those of an unwanted place, developed from the idea of ​​a small number of people to extend it to the whole world.

In this regard, one of the most ferocious criticisms against the Metaverse is the forced adoption of an idea at the base of which there is a progressive distancing from the rest of the people, an increasingly radical closure in oneself, a simple yet dangerous one. escape from reality.

We must not forget that money, or rather crypto metaverse, circulate inside the Metaverse. It has already happened and will happen again, that you attack hacker have subtracted from the new virtual dimension the consideration of millions and millions of dollars.

Finally, the Metaverse does not cancel the risks associated with today’s use of social networks, indeed in some cases it could enhance them, risks such as: falsification of identity, theft of personal data, unclear privacy policies. On this topic we have dedicated two separate insights that we invite you to read: how to protect your online privacy and how to protect your social media accounts.