A Glimpse Into The Future: The Metaverse, CBDCs & Cryptocurrency

The Rise Of The Virtual Economy.

The internet produced a colossal effect on almost every aspect of the global economy, and it will rapidly transform again during this decade.

Two recently developed technologies will reshape the digital economy:
CBDCs and the Metaverse

The launch and expansion of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) will alter money as we know it. Competition between digital payment methods is inevitable, and Central Banks are highly likely to push for restrictions on cryptocurrencies.

Moreover, a Metaverse VR/AR tech war should begin by the end of this decade, with opposing technologies competing until one prevails.

Different Metaverse models will compete for superiority, and a fierce contest between CBDCs and cryptocurrencies will occur.

The most likely outcome is a pluralism of Metaverses, although consumers’ choices will be heavily influenced by big tech corporations, cryptocurrency regulations, and financial restrictions.

The Metaverse can grow into an enormous virtual economy but not before a decade of experimentation. Pioneers lay the foundations today, though.

In parallel to the global economy, the Metaverse will rise as its virtual counterpart and contest in size.

The Internet Of Money: CBDCs, Cryptocurrencies, and the Metaverse

Source

Evolution’s next step is the Metaverse.

The effect of a fully developed Metaverse will be hundreds of times better than the internet.

We will be one further step closer than ever before to becoming a unified civilization.

An era of hope and abundance can begin, but there’s also a threat of authoritarian control and censorship of money.

Payment networks offering instant transactions with low fees without sacrificing their permissionless nature that guarantee censorship resistance of digital cash are the future and the competition to CBDCs.

The crypto industry should expect strict and severe regulations as Central Banks prefer less competition from cryptocurrencies.

The digital (soon-to-be virtual) economy will evolve into a behemoth parallel economy to the global one.

A Massive 3D Universe To Host 8 Billion People

A Metaverse evolved to the maximum will resemble the 3D Universe presented in the movie “Ready Player One”.

Gaming will be fun in the Metaverse, but it won’t be just about games.

Virtual worlds will not be just entertainment, though, with online games, avatars, and NFTs. It will be real people working in a virtual environment.

NFTs will present digital ownership rights powered by Web3 dapps.

Businesses, Education, Corporations, Institutions, Services

Meta (Facebook) is building a gamified version of the Metaverse although more announcements will follow as tech giants like Sony and Microsoft will not allow a Meta monopoly.

Maybe gamification will apply in some parts of the Metaverse but not on the business side. Corporations and organizations will create structures within the virtual realm, and customers will receive services with a mixture of AI NPCs and human employees.

Maybe the education field will stay within the physical schools’ boundaries, but some weaker economies can save funds with online education.

However, the socialization of juniors is reduced with this approach, so probably virtual schools will only apply to children with special needs and regions where education is unavailable.

In these terms, we are still talking about millions of children the Metaverse will accommodate their education, which provides a solution for regions where children and young adults have to travel long distances to reach the institution.

Crypto Regulation and CBDCs

(Source: Twitter — Brian Armstrong)

There is a rule for a blockchain or cryptocurrency network to succeed:
Having nobody in control.

Control translates to centralization, which is a massive point of failure.
Historically, attempts at creating a digital currency failed massively (E-Gold, Liberty Reserve, etc.) because of centralization.

Decisions have to be taken multilaterally by the overwhelming majority of the community.

However, many cryptocurrency or blockchain projects suffer from decision-making centralization.

Decentralization is not binary. Most probably, complete decentralization of a network is a utopic dream. Nonetheless, communities and users of blockchain networks should strive to enhance this feature since it significantly enhances the chances of success in the long run.

CBDCs, on the other hand, are centralized currencies, controllable and censorable.

Central Banks plan to eventually replace all other forms of “fiat” money (coins, paper cash, digital fiat) with CBDCs.

A preview of CBDCs as explained by former Central Banker Agustin Carstens:

CBDCs will succeed in tracking underground markets in western economies where they produce 20–40% of the GDP and even higher percentages in the rest of the world.

The Chinese CBDC (digital Yuan / Renminbi) proceeds unchallenged since the Chinese government enforced a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies in May 2021, while several regions banned mining operations.

China’s harsh treatment of cryptocurrencies “coincided” with the launch and test phase of the CBDC, which analysts expect to become a powerful currency in Asia and all regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (Modern Silk Road).

The Dark Side Of The Metaverse (The DarkVerse)

Yes, we will also find a DarkVerse within the Metaverse.

As an extension of the dark web (or darknet), the DarkVerse will form black markets for banned and illegal goods and services in a virtual environment.

However, black markets will avoid using CBDCs due to their money tracking features. As with the current dark web marketplaces, privacy coins will find a use case in the dark part of the MetaVerse.

Although, the dark side of the internet will require more time to reach the Metaverse since the cost of 3D design and the network/server upgrades increase costs. A dark web will not find it easy to operate in a similar decentralized approach with tools like ToR right from the beginning.

Certainly, agencies will have to allocate funds to build infrastructure and train agents to combat what they consider illegal.

We will learn about stories from the underground of the MetaVerse, with virtual cops hunting down cyber criminals and arresting their avatars!

In Conclusion

Picture by “geralt” on Pixabay

We can envision a future of a free virtual economy, or one with severe restrains, limiting innovation and progress.

There is another world beyond the boundaries of our physical existence.

An all encompassing virtual universe existing in parallel to our world.

It might take ten years before a working version of what we consider a Metaverse is launched, but tech moguls and pioneers lay the foundations today.

We are about to create a virtual universe with infinite possibilities and immense value for our civilization.

We can strive to make it work for everyone, or divide it into spheres of influence, control, and centralization of power at the hands of a dozen funds.

We can still choose between the way of CBDCs or a better way.

Cover: Pixabay images combined (image1, image2, image3, image4)

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