Thanks to its relentless pace of advancement, the blockchain industry is quickly transforming the business landscape through its novel incentivization and distribution model. Despite 2022’s challenging backdrop, the influx of mainstream brands, venture capital firms, and angel investors into the segment showed no signs of slowing.
Pick the best stocks and maximize your portfolio:
- Discover top-rated stocks from highly ranked analysts with Analyst Top Stocks!
- Easily identify outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks
2022 was the epicenter of a massive surge in investment across the Web3 ecosystem, with investors pouring millions of dollars into emerging projects and infrastructure development encompassing the metaverse, blockchain gaming, and Web3. During that period, development activity across the blockchain ecosystem concurrently grew unabated. Per Alchemy’s latest report, development across the Web3 ecosystem soared by nearly 453%, even amid the events following Terra and FTX’s fall.
With 2023 kicking off, we sat down with TJ Kawamura, a co-founder of a16z-backed metaverse technology company Everyrealm, to understand what 2023 holds in store. Recently, TJ shared an open letter with investors highlighting how the metaverse and blockchain technology is poised for an intersection this year.
In his letter, TJ underlined several vital points, including digital identities, new use cases for NFTs, decentralized social media platforms, infrastructure development, and the merger of virtual and physical worlds. In our conversation with TJ, we dove deeper into his insights to establish why emerging technologies will shape the future of the internet, understand novel concepts like digital identity, and ascertain how TJ expects the industry to progress over the coming months.
In your letter to investors, you mention that 2023 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the intersection of the metaverse and blockchain technology. Can you explain why you believe this to be the case?
TJ: In 2023, we will see the continuation of various trends converging and the release of anticipated projects. This includes the launch of metaverse platforms such as Sandbox to Everywhere and existing platforms like Fortnite continuing to empower creators with the tools to create and monetize their creations. Additionally, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to release its Apple Glasses, a hardware tool that bridges the physical and digital world through immersive reality for the masses, and blockchain infrastructure is set to provide benefits of Web3 while providing user-friendly experiences that they are accustomed to Web2. In the past, Web3 infrastructure has been far too complex, making it difficult for non-crypto native users to onboard and enjoy experiences.
In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges facing the development of the metaverse, and how do you think they can be overcome? Can you also tell us how you expect the metaverse to impact the concept of identity and self-expression in the digital realm?
TJ: While we will see many new products released this year and infrastructure continue to improve, there is still time needed for the space to mature and fully develop the infrastructure needed to distribute, experience, and benefit from the content within virtual worlds to the masses. Your digital self is becoming synonymous with your physical self, and we see that already, as people value the identity of their Twitter, Tinder, and Tiktok personas almost as much as their personas in the physical world. The gap between the two will continue to close as the immersive nature of digital experiences improves.
Can you please explain the concept of “digital ownership” and how it relates to the metaverse? How do you see the concept of virtual property rights evolving in the metaverse, and will it impact the way we think about ownership and value in the digital realm?
TJ: In the past, the digital assets you bought and data created from your digital footprint were not truly yours. Many companies collect and use your personal information for their own benefit, often without providing compensation or benefits to the individuals whose information is being used. Digital assets, while they can be purchased, may not always be fully owned by the buyer as they can be taken away or lost when the platform is turned off. I believe virtual ownership will increasingly resemble physical ownership, where the owner has more control, providing more opportunities to create and monetize value.
Your letter also underlines the importance of digital identity (DID) in the metaverse and that NFTs and DIDs will be used to leverage identity traits. In this context, please help our readers understand what DIDs are and how Everyrealm plans to address the issue of fragmented digital identities and provide users with a unified, interoperable identity that they control.
TJ: NFTs and DIDs are both options to give ownership of identity traits back to the user, but they use different methods. DIDs are not tokens but encrypted documents containing information about your identity that is linked to and unlocked by the owner’s wallet address, which is the unique identifier. This allows the user to take control of multiple different identifiers and link them together, enabling them to prove aspects of their identity more easily without having a fragmented presence across the metaverse.
You talk about the importance of interoperability in the metaverse and how it will enable users to combine their different online identities into a single, unified identity. What, according to you, are the biggest challenges in solving blockchain’s interoperability dilemma? And how does Everyrealm plans to ensure interoperability between different virtual worlds, and what role it sees for itself in the problem-solving process?
TJ: The biggest challenge is the potential for centralized platforms to restrict access to their APIs, preventing users from accessing their digital footprint. Standards also need to be developed among platforms to easily transfer identity and assets across platforms. Everyrealm is investing in and developing the infrastructure and content necessary to build this ecosystem for the long term.
Please provide some insights on the role of community and social interactions in the metaverse and how it may differ from traditional online communities and social networks. How does Everyrealm facilitate and encourage meaningful social interactions in the metaverse?
TJ: As the metaverse becomes more immersive and the gap between physical and digital worlds becomes increasingly blurred, people will be able to develop more meaningful relationships through social interactions and experiences that more closely resemble those in the physical world. Currently, online communities and social networks lack authenticity and can feel less real. This will change with the metaverse, enabling more realistic and immersive interactions.
