Metaverse — The New Reality
You’re showing friends around your new corner office in the 120 story building you just built. Suddenly, your dad bursts in telling you to hurry or you’ll be late for the Beatles reunion concert.
That might not be possible in the real world. However, it could happen in the Metaverse.
What Is the Metaverse
There is no one Metaverse. Rather, it is a collection of shared virtual worlds. In many ways, these alternative realities would function much like the physical world.
Anyone could buy and develop real estate as well as other businesses. You would get together with old friends and make new ones. Shops would take orders for metaverse or real-world goods.
If the concept seems like a game, that’s because gaming has contributed much to the Metaverse. Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft are games that use virtual worlds to let users collaborate.
More Than a Game
However, there are serious real-world applications. The Metaverse is being used for workplace tools and community networking platforms. For example, Facebook has a team working on a platform for the Metaverse.
Mark Zuckerberg told Facebook staffers this summer that the company will transform from an internet company to a Metaverse company. That means that instead of communicating in text, people would be able to interact as 3D avatars.
Other Big Tech firms investing in the Metaverse include Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
How Do You Make a New World
Most of the long-term players in this game are developing their platforms using blockchain technology. A blockchain is data shared by a large network of computers. It is best known for powering cryptocurrencies.
Companies on the cusp of developing virtual worlds include Nvidia Corporation, which has developed Omniverse, a metaverse for engineers; Sandbox and Decentraland, which allow users to create inworld assets that can be purchased using Ethereum; and Tencent, the largest tech company in China.
How To Buy Assets in Metaverse
Speaking of cryptocurrencies, they — along with NFT — are funding purchases in these alternative worlds.
NFTs, which have become highly collectible, represent art, images, video, or tokens. They are traded in parts of the Metaverse as currency. As a result, their value has skyrocketed.
Sales of NFTs reached $2.5 billion for the first half of this year. For all of 2020, the figure was $13.7 million.
How To Make Money in Metaverse
Analysts see a lot of money to be made in the metaverse.
“VR and AR have the potential to add $1.5 trillion to the global economy by 2030,” according to global advisory firm PwC’s “Seeing is believing” report.
You can join most metaverse platforms for free.
Some platforms allow you to sell land and other virtual assets. Some platforms allow you to create games that you can charge others to play. You can also charge for concerts and art exhibitions.
If you want to save more efficiently, Sign up for Digit today. This app can help you automate your money goals.
EFTs Target Metaverse Companies
A less techy way to profit from the metaverse is to invest in a real-world EFT.
Roundhill Ball Metaverse EFT invests in companies connected to the metaverse. Other brokerages may follow.
Tapering Talk Turning Tedious
August Consumer prices rose .03 percent, the slowest increase since February, according to the U. S. Department of Labor.
That may mean talks of tapering by the Federal Reserve will be kicked down the road. However, tapering is inevitable.
So, how does that affect you? Read on.
What Is Tapering?
Tapering is when the Fed reduces its purchase of assets such as Treasure Bonds and mortgage-backed securities. The process is preceded by an increase in such purchases. That increase is called quantitative easing. (You can now converse with any economist you meet at a cocktail party).
Why Do These Things?
The Fed is buying $80 billion worth of Treasury securities and $40 billion of mortgage-backed bonds a month. The infusion of cash is designed to stimulate the economy by keeping interest rates low. In addition, that makes borrowing easier for businesses and you.
Once the economy begins to improve, the central bank can reduce its purchases. That is tapering.
The precedent for this policy occurred in 2013. That is when the FED began selling assets it bought to boost the economy after the financial crash of 2008.
Impact on Your Bottom Line
The most direct effect of tapering is on interest rates. At some point, the Fed will begin tapering and interest rates are bound to rise. As a result, rates on new mortgages, automobile loans, and credit cards will increase.
If the stock market fears tapering is occurring too quickly, there might be a sell-off. This happened in 2018.
Tapering will begin sometime. It may not start this year as a result of the low August CPI. However, it is coming.
What You Can Do?
You can not determine when or how fast the Fed will begin tapering. However, you can take action to put your finances in the best shape possible.
An emergency fund is the best way to prepare for tapering, according to Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst.
The good news is that you have time to build that emergency fund if you start now.
Welcome to Telosa, Population 5,000,000
The headline above is for a city that does not exist — yet.
Telosa is the vision of Marc Lore. He founded Jet.com and built Walmart’s e-commerce business.
“This is going to be a lifelong project. It’s the thing I’m most passionate about,” Lore told Vox’s Recode.
New Model for Society
The city’s website says it will be “open, fair, and inclusive.” It also emphasizes sustainability and opportunity.
“Renewable resources would power the city, freshwater would be stored, cleaned, and reused on-site, autonomous cars would create safe and flexible streetscapes. Citizens are provided with honest and clear financials. The environment would always be a priority, and a place where citizens are informed and politicians are accountable,” states Telosa’s website.
Equitism
Economic fairness is a prime motivation for the development of Telosa.
“While the current economic system is a growth engine, it has led to increasing inequality,” states the website.
Telosa will provide a “new form of capitalism” called Equitism, Lore told Fortune.
“I’m trying to create a new model for society, where wealth is created in a fair way,” said Lore. “It’s not burdening the wealthy; it’s not increasing taxes. It is simply giving back to the citizens and the people the wealth that they helped create.”
Betting on Land Value
The idea is that you can build and sell a home. However, the land would be owned by the city. The increase in land value would be used to produce income. As a result, Telosa could fund equal access to healthcare, schools, transportation, and public safety.
Lore has hired Danish architectural firm BIG to design the city.
Location, Location, Location
Finding a location is the next step in developing Telosa. Lore says he is thinking of the southwestern U. S. or Appalachia. However, he might find other visionaries have pushed land prices higher.
Bill Gates owns 2,800 outside Pheonix where he is developing agriculture and a smart city called Belmont. In addition, former lawyer and CEO of Blockchains, LLC Jeffrey Berns has acquired 67,000 acres in Nevada in order to build his own city.
Lore’s metropolis will cost an estimated $5 billion to develop. He plans to open in 2030 with 50,000 residents on 1,500 acres.
Read More:
- QUIZ: Test Your Knowledge of Household Water Use
- How To Save Money While Saving The Environment
- Green Investing: It’s Getting Easier to be Green
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Max K. Erkiletian began writing for newspapers while still in high school. He went on to become an award-winning journalist and co-founder of the print magazine Free Bird. He has written for a wide range of regional and national publications as well as many on-line publications. That has afforded him the opportunity to interview a variety of prominent figures from former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank Paul Volker to Blues musicians Muddy Waters and B. B. King. Max lives in Springfield, MO with his wife Karen and their two cats. He spends as much time as possible with his kids, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
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