We all think we know what reality is. It’s the physical world in which we live. Where we work, play, socialize, entertain others and ourselves and start and invest in businesses, real estate, etc.

But something new is coming that will blur the realms of the real and the virtual. People are creating a virtual world in which you have a life like you do in the real one. You work, you play, you hang out with friends, you buy goods and services, create businesses, buy and sell stocks and real estate –- in short, it’s everything the real world is, but it’s the imagination of the people who are a part of it. Welcome to the Metaverse. Although it’s a virtual world, you can make real money getting involved in it.

More Details On The Metaverse

In more detail, the Metaverse is virtual reality consisting of virtual worlds that move on even when you aren’t playing. It also combines elements of the digital and the physical world. You don’t need virtual reality or augmented reality software to access it. You can visit through your personal computer, game console, or your Smartphone.

Included in this alternative reality is a digital economy where participants invent businesses, buy and sell goods and more. It allows you to bring virtual items that you buy from one platform to another. The alternate reality provides virtual characters or avatars that each person who participates become. The persona doesn’t exist in just one platform, but all the virtual platforms of which you are a part.

In a way, it’s a more sophisticated World Of Warcraft, Fortnite, or other digital realm that has existed for some time now. However, these digital games are now a part of the Metaverse. As the technology develops, you will live in your own virtual house where you can entertain your real friends who are part of the realm through their persona avatar. It also includes virtual meeting rooms where you are trained for your job or where you can have a discussion with remote co-workers.

Once the technology is fully up and running, there will be all sorts of scenarios that allow you to interact with your real friends. For example, your persona can be sitting on a couch in your virtual home looking through Instagram. Suddenly, you receive a video from a friend posted on the social networking site of a virtual concert that he or she is engaged in. Your persona can then become a part of the scene as your personal avatar hologram and you interact with your friend. Regardless of where you and your friend are in the real, physical world. You enjoy the concert, the milieu, and a conversation with your friend and any other person who wants to interact with you.

Investing In The Metaverse

You buy things that you need in this alternative reality using cryptocurrencies. Not only can you buy products, you can also buy and sell stocks and real estate using the cryptocurrencies.

Stocks are available in companies that are now contributing to the Metaverse. These companies include Facebook (also known at Meta), Microsoft, NVIDIA, Roblox, Nike, Snapchat, Unity Software, Taiwan Semiconductor, Autodeck, Amazon, Immersion Corporation, Apple, Fastly, Intel, Qualcomm, Coinbase, and Matterport.

Mutual funds set up for investors’ retirement are also buying into the concept. One ETF, Roundhill Investments controls 41 companies it believes will be major players in the Metaverse. Other ETFs to become familiar with include:

• iShares Virtual Work and Life Multisector
• ETFMG Prime Cyber Security
• Tehnology Select Sector

There are a variety of players in the Metaverse that expand the potential for investing. For example, there are:

• Art Galleries. Sotheby’s allows artists to show their digital art and auction it on the Metaverse.
• Business offices. Companies create digital offices on the Metaverse where People can meet with their co-workers and discuss business topics.
• Gaming and gambling
• Advertising. Companies assist you in placing digital billboards into the Metaverse that promote your real business. They also help you promote content through mini-games set up by third parties.

When building the real world, companies had to construct an infrastructure. That is also true for the Metaverse. There are companies “constructing” the virtual ecosystem of the Metaverse. Companies that are players in this particular aspect of the alternate world include:

• Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
• NVIDIA Corporation
• Intel Corporation
• Meta Platforms, Inc.
• Roblox Corporation
• Alphabet, Inc.
• Microsoft Corporation
• Snowflake, Inc.
• Switch
• Unity Software, Inc.
• QUALCOMM Incorporated
• Autodesk, Inc.
• MicroStrategy Incorporated
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
• Lumen Technologies, Inc.
• Cloudflare, Inc.
• International Business Machines Corporation
• Matterport, Inc.
• Micron Technology, Inc.
• Akamai Technologies, Inc.
• Palantir Technologies, Inc.
• The Glimpse Group, Inc.
• Lumentum Holdings, Inc.
• Marvell
• Broadcom, Inc.
• Amazon.com, Inc.

Somebody is also needed to develop the virtual or Vcommerce of the Metaverse. This sector includes how to pay for things. Companies expected to be players in the MetaCommerce include:

• Sea Limited
• Square, Inc.
• PayPal Holdings, Inc.
• Shopify, Inc.
• SoFi Technologies, Inc.
• Mastercard Incorporated
• Visa, Inc.
• Fiserv, Inc.
• Coinbase Global, Inc.
• Affirm Holdings, Inc.
• Apple, Inc.
• Fidelity National Information Services
• Shift4Payments
• Bakkt Holdings, Inc.
• Green Dot

The virtual communications, entertainment, and gaming sector of the Metaverse will have its major players, too. They will include:

• Nintendo Co. Ltd.
• Zynga, Inc.
• Electronic Arts, Inc.
• Activision Blizzaard, Inc.
• Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
• Match Group, Inc.
• PLBY Group, Inc.
• Dolphin Entertainment, Inc.
• The Walt Disney Company
• Netflix, Inc.
• Sony Group Corporation
• Zoom Video Communications, Inc.
• AT&T
• Tencent Holdings, Ltd.
• Cinedigm Corp
• Mattel, Inc.
• Roku, Inc.
• GameStop Corporation
• DraftKings, Inc.
• UBISoft Entertainment
• Skillz, Inc.
• Bilibili, Inc.
• Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.

There are bad guys in the real world and since all the players in the Metaverse are from the real world, those bad guys will try to do bad things in cyberspace. Therefore, cybersecurity, which is an essential part of the Internet, will be needed. Security companies already expected to be players in this sector include:

• CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.
• Okta, Inc.
• Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
• Splunk, Inc
• Juniper Networks, Inc.
• Ping Identity Holding Corporation
• NortonLifeLock, Inc.
• SolarWinds Corporation
• DocuSign, Inc.
• Sumo Logic, Inc.
• Verisign, Inc.
• Tenable Holdings, Inc.
• Qualys, Inc.
• Datadog, Inc.
• SentinelOne, Inc.

Of course, companies in the real world will want to advertise and market in Metaverse. Billboards in the virtual world will be a major advertising tool. Many companies already involved in advertising and promotion in the Metaverse extend their brand into cyberspace through gaming. Expect these companies to be involved in Metamarketing:

• The Trade Desk, Inc.
• Digital Turbine, Inc.
• PubMatic, Inc.
• Applovin Corporation
• Omnicom Group, Inc.
• Lamar Advertising Company
• Magnite
• Verizon Communications, Inc.

You can’t neglect companies that offer computer hardware. Although they won’t actually be in the Metaverse, we need their products to visit. Players in this part of Metaverse investments include:

• Vuzix Corporation
• Snap, Inc.
• Meta Materials, Inc.
• MicroVision, Inc.
• Immersion Corporation
• Corsair Gaming, Inc.
• Turtle Beach Corporation
• EssilorLuxottica

Play To Earn

Investors can use their cryptocurrency to make real money in play-to-earn games in the Metaverse. In essence, play-to-earn games allows one to gain financial rewards in an open economy. Those rewards are real money.

Some play-to-earn companies involved in the Metaverse include:

• Axie Infinity
• Decentraland (real estate purchasing)
• Enjin Coin
• The Sandbox (real estate purchasing)

Metaverse Tokens

So, you’re going to need money to buy things in the Metaverse, which means you need to stock up in Metaverse tokens. Just like someone who visits another country and needs to exchange their country’s currency for other countries’ currency, there are exchanges that expedite the purchase of Metaverse tokens. They include:

Cryptocurrency exchanges. The most common way to acquire Metaverse tokens, these exchanges offer the largest varieties of cryptocurrencies. Many of these exchanges offer new tokens at the lowest prices possible. Some you may want to explore include Binance, Bybit, KuCoin, OKEX, Huobi, and FTX. There are also exchanges that offer only specific cryptocurrency coins or tokens. They include Uniswap and Pancake Swap. You can buy specific tokens with a card from Trust Wallet or Atomic Wallet, too.

There have been scientists who have postulated that our universe is just one of a number of parallel universes. Well, you could say that they are right., there is at least one. That parallel universe is the Metaverse. And, like mining for gold in California in the late 1840s, there’s money to be had in that alternative world.