Thread by @MTorygreen

The ENDGAME for NFTs and Web3:

The metaverse

Everyone's heard of it, but few understand this $30 Trillion opportunity

This thread will teach you everything you need to know about the #metaverse in 10 min or less

(and show you the top 15 projects to watch)

A mega-thread💥 🧵

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This thread will cover the following:

✅ What is the metaverse?

✅ How big is the opportunity?

✅ The problem with the metaverse

✅ How blockchains solve this problem

✅ Key infrastructure providers and protocols to watch

Let’s dive in!

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🔶 What is the Metaverse?

There are many definitions of “the metaverse”, but for this 🧵 we’ll use this one:

“The metaverse is an interconnected network of virtual worlds that will replace the web as the primary way in which we access information”

I'll elaborate below 👇

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Virtual worlds are online, immersive, 3D spaces that may replace the webpages of today as our primary means of accessing the internet

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Instead of simply logging onto a website and reading its content, users can explore these virtual worlds and:

✅ Interact with other users

✅ Create & trade digital goods

✅ Participate in meetings

✅ Attend events

✅ Play games

✅ Build in-world objects & landscapes

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Virtual worlds often host their own self-sufficient economies which include:

· Land which can be bought, sold, rented and developed

· Digital Goods which can be consumed and traded

· Native currencies to buy and sell goods and services

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It's possible to use PCs and mobile devices to access the metaverse today

But many expect that Augmented and Virtual Reality will become the dominant means of access as the technology matures

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🔶 Opportunity

The potential for the #metaverse is mind boggling

It’s billed as the next version of the internet, and analysts believe it could be worth $10 to $30 trillion by 2030

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It’s the logical extension of several trends:

✅ Hyperconnectivity: 5 billion people use the internet (average of 8 hours a day in US)

✅ Remote Work: 2/3rd of Americans are fully or partially remote

✅ Acceptance of online culture: 81% of teens hang with friends online

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The metaverse will likely yield a host of benefits for:

🎉 Social interactions

🎥 Entertainment

🧑‍💼 Work

🛍️ Shopping

🎓 Education

🏭 Productivity

🧳 Tourism

🦽 Accessibility

🎨 Creativity

🏥 Healthcare

🏛️ Cultural exchange

🌳 The Environment

and many more...

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And as @JoshLu of a16z points out, gen alpha (kids < 10) are primed to be the first “metaverse natives”

(just as Gen Z were “social media native” and millennials were “internet native”)

https://twitter.com/JoshLu/status/1597279959797862401

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🔶 Problem

But there’s a major problem…

Big Tech is trying to control the #metaverse

Companies like Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple have all announced plans to monopolize the space

(Facebook even changed it’s name to Meta 🙄)

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If this happens, it will be an absolute disaster for humanity

As Tim Sweeney said:

“If one central company gains control of this, they will become more powerful than any government and be a god on Earth”

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🔶 Solution

Forrtunately, we can prevent this by using #blockchains & cryptoeconomics to build a “decentralized” metaverse

One that is not controlled by a single entity, but instead shared by all of humanity

But to do this we'll need several key pieces of infrastructure

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These include:

• Virtual Worlds ($SAND, $APE, $MANA)

• Wallets

• dISPs ($HNT)

• dDNS ($ENS)

• RPC nodes ($POKT)

• L1/2s ($ETH, $SOL, $MATIC)

• Storage ($FIL)

• Oracles ($LINK)

• Search tools ($GRT)

• Shared compute ($RNDR, $LPT)

Let’s look at each 👇

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Quick note: If you’re not familiar with how the internet works on a technical level, I’d recommend checking out this 🧵 on the evolution of the net from Web 1.0 to Web3

(or at least bookmark it for later)

If you are up to speed in that area, then on to the protocols!

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1639311173417078784

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♦️ Virtual Worlds

Will replace websites as the primary access points to the metaverse

Notable worlds include:

· @OthersideMeta (@BoredApeYC / @yugalabs ecosystem)

· @TheSandboxGame (@animocabrands ecosystem)

· @NeoTokyoCode

· @decentraland

· @nftworldsNFT

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♦️ Wallet

One of the biggest changes from the Web today is the addition of digital wallets like @MetaMask

These tools:

✅ Will replace emails and passwords as the primary means to access the metaverse

✅ Hold digital currencies

✅ Allow the user to interact with dapps

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♦️ Decentralized Internet

To create a decentralized Web3, we need decentralized ISPs

@helium ($HNT) is one protocol working on this

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1596186978394914816

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♦️ Decentralized DNS

A decentralized DNS serves as the “phonebook” for Web3

It will allow users to translate blockchain addresses (like 0x7AAcA0f0cc1bA9b2C4889ACb2aeBfC01300d6f21) into human-readable names (like torygreen.eth)

@ensdomains ($ENS) is the leader here

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1606333884295102464

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♦️ Node Providers

In order to access a smart contract platform, users need to run a “node”

Running a node is challenging and, as such, most users will rely on third-party services known as node providers

One protocol providing such a service is @POKTnetwork ($POKT)

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1601260447985856512

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♦️ Smart Contract Platforms

Smart contract platforms such as Ethereum, Polygon and Solana will replace traditional servers and databases

Let’s look at each 👇

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@ethereum ($ETH) is the first and largest smart contract platform

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1599810926588223495

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@solana ($SOL) is an exceptionally fast smart contract platform aiming to recreate the Web 2.0 experience

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1604884293251043328

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@0xPolygon ($MATIC) is a smart contract platform focused on Layer 2 solutions

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1633165687731687424

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There are dozens of other smart contract platforms such as BNB, Cardano, Avalanche, Polkadot, Tron, NEAR and Cosmos

(I’ll be writing about these in the future too)

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♦️ Data Storage

Layer 1 blockchains can't store a lot of data, so they'll need to rely on but decentralized storage solutions like @Filecoin 's ($FIL) IPFS

These will play several important roles in the metaverse

(such as hosting NFTs)

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1595462211505299468

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♦️ Search Tools

One of the great things about blockchains is that everyone can view every transaction

Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done

As such, tools that help users search blockchains, such as @graphprotocol ($GRT), are becoming more popular

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1605971477131509785

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♦️ Oracles

Blockchains can’t access external data on their own

As a result, they need to rely on what is known as an “oracle” to upload important data

@chainlink ($LINK) is the dominant oracle network

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1597274199965413376

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♦️ Shared compute

Web3 will require more computing power than any endeavor in history

As a result, a new breed of “shared computers”, which combine individual’s PCs into one “mega computer”, will likely gain prominence

Three notable players are mentioned below:

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@RenderToken ($RNDR) is a shared computing platform that focusing on “rendering” 3D objects

This will be very important for the metaverse

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1598361305265541120

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@Livepeer ($LPT) provides video transcoding services

These services are essential for online and streaming video

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1613943980470964224

If you want to learn more about the #metaverse I recommend following these gigabrains:

@AndrewSteinwold
@ballmatthew
@CroissantEth
@cyrilXBT
@DefiIgnas
@jradoff
@mishadavinci
@NFT_GOD
@PastryEth
@rex_woodbury
@waleswoosh

They all have unique takes, so you should check them out!

I hope you've found this thread helpful.

Follow me @MTorygreen for more fundamental analysis on Web3 protocols.

Like/Retweet the first tweet below if you can:

https://twitter.com/MTorygreen/status/1648733249760542720