Facebook triggered a metaverse-mania after CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company was rebranding to Meta. Meta, which is a shortened version of the metaverse, is meant to fit in with the company’s vision going forward. Facebook has been the leading social media platform for a while now and the social media giant plans to take this one step further.
Facebook, now Meta, plans to launch its very own metaverse with a virtual world where users can enter with VR/AR hardware. Users will be able to do pretty much the same things they can do in real life in this alternate universe. With body sensors planned to be introduced later on to improve the experience.
Related Reading | Got Rekt On Squid Game? Here Are The Warning Signs You Missed (Ignored)
Since the metaverse space has been picking up steam in the last few years, with a number of projects already offering metaverse experiences using AR/VR gadgets, Facebook’s entrance into the space has shaken up things a bit.
Facebook’s Foray Into Metaverse Sparks Rally
After the announcement of the name change on October 28th, metaverse-related crypto tokens saw a significant uptick in interest. The new metaverse direction is said to be the social media giant’s priority for the future and this has brought significant support to the industry. Facebook has also been involved in the blockchain space with the development of its native token Diem, formerly Libra.
Metaverse tokens rally after Facebook announcement | Source: Arcane Research
The announcement had also come with a subtle hint of support for the blockchain space. Hence the support was seen from the crypto community following the announcement. Attention from the announcement saw the focus shift onto metaverse-related tokens, causing the cryptocurrencies to rally. MANA and SAND saw top gains after Facebook made the announcement.
Coingecko reports that the metaverse ecosystem had seen a 593% gain following the announcement as interest in metaverse projects rose. Decentraland (MANA) and Sandbox (SAND) saw 302% and 174% returns respectively. While ENJN and AXS saw gains of 50% and 10%.
Meta Gets Some Pushback From Community
Like everything Facebook has done since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the motive behind Meta has been questioned by the community. Many have criticized the move as Facebook trying to centralize a predominantly decentralized space. Central ownership of a metaverse the size of which Facebook could build has raised concerns on how much power it could give the company.
Related Reading | How A Coinbase User Lost $11.6 Million 10 Minutes After Bitcoin Purchase
The quality of a metaverse that a company like Facebook can produce with its resources will be infinitesimally better compared to its existing counterparts. Things like gameplay quality have been a recurring issue for metaverse projects and Facebook is expected to bring advanced gameplay to the metaverse space.
Despite the criticisms of Facebook’s motives behind the Meta announcement, the stock has seen some uptick in the market. Facebook’s stock grew 7% following the announcement of Meta.
Featured image from CNBC, chart from TradingView.com