The metaverse is the immersive, virtual world, and possibly the next evolution of the internet (
Web 3.0).
It’s spewing out new content everyday created by all sorts of companies in a multi-billion dollar industry.
There are some people who believe the metaverse is the next best thing, not only in video games, but also with work, communication, and art.
If you also believe the metaverse is the next big thing, then you would probably be interested in investing in it. Whoa, that’s a tongue twister!
The cool thing about the metaverse market is you can invest in both crypto and stock.
The crypto is usually the token used to do things in the metaverse, whereas the stocks are owned by companies who are actively developing or aiding the metaverse.
Let’s learn how to invest in the metaverse, then explore some potential investments in both crypto and stock.
Disclaimer: The metaverse is something completely new, speculative, and very adverse to risk. Only invest in what you are willing to lose. There is no guarantee that the metaverse, these cryptos, or these stocks will get big.
How to Invest in the Metaverse
Before we get into the best metaverse crypto and stocks to invest in we first need to know how to invest in the metaverse. Some may already have their preferred method of investment, so you can skip this part if that’s you.
If you are looking to get into crypto, then you will most likely be best off using an exchange for now, especially if you are a beginner.
There are a few
great crypto exchanges that are easy to use, have a wide selection of cryptocurrency, and are reputable (meaning you have less risk of the exchange going under).
For those in America, Coinbase or Gemini are a good fit for you. If you are anywhere else in the world, Binance will probably be the best exchange available to you.
On the stock side, Robinhood is perfect for beginners because it’s extremely simple to use, and you can purchase pieces of a stock instead of the whole thing at a time. That means you can invest in stock with any amount. That’s very good for people who can’t spend a few hundred at a time for a stock.
Robinhood also offers a selection of crypto. However, it is an extremely small pool of crypto to choose from and mainly only includes the most popular cryptocurrencies.
Metaverse Crypto
There are a couple of different ways that you can invest in the metaverse using crypto. This could be buying land in the metaverse, buying NFTs in the metaverse, or just buying the cryptocurrencies themselves.
Decentraland ($MANA)
We talked about Decentraland as one of the
best play-to-earn games in 2022. Decentraland is a virtual reality platform that is built on the Ethereum blockchain.
In Decentraland, you use a cryptocurrency called MANA to buy plots of land, which are in the form of NFTs called LAND. You can also purchase other NFTs like clothing for your avatar. Some of the LAND in Decentraland has sold for between $6,000 and $100,000!
Once you have an NFT in Decentraland you can sell that to someone else for MANA. If you invest correctly, you can rake in profits by selling at the right time.
MANA can be bought and traded on most exchanges, so you can invest in the currency itself if NFTs aren’t your thing. Right now, MANA has a 1.8 billion dollar market cap making it worth $0.99 per token.
One cool thing about Decentraland is that you can go into digital art galleries where you are able to see other’s NFT collections. Even people who don’t want to invest in the metaverse can experience something too.
The Sandbox ($SAND)
The Sandbox is another metaverse game where you can own virtual land and create assets on that land using voxels, like Minecraft. These user-created assets can then be bought and sold on a marketplace using the token called SAND.
The assets are NFT based, which means that any creations can be sold to other players in the game for SAND, and then sold for real money. Right now, there are about 300,000 monthly users on The Sandbox.
One of the best things about The Sandbox is that you can earn the token just for playing the game. That means you don’t have to actually put in any real money, and still have the opportunity to invest in the metaverse.
Currently, there are 1.2 billion out of 3 billion SAND tokens circulating. It has a 1.7 billion dollar market cap and a price of $1.34 per SAND.
Enjin Coin ($ENJ)
Enjin Coin is the token for Enjin, a blockchain-based, gaming marketplace that offers digital gaming products, like NFTs, as well as a social platform where users can create clans, chat with other users, and have their own virtual stores where they can sell their own NFTs.
The token itself is used to back the value of an NFT. When users purchase an NFT with ENJ they essentially lock the tokens within the NFT. At any point, a user can destroy the NFT to get back the ENJ held within.
Since there are only a set amount of ENJ tokens (1 billion), as more and more NFTs are minted on the Enjin Network, the tokens will get locked into these NFTs, making the circulating supply more scarce and more valuable over time.
In 2022, Enjin Coin boasts about 20 million users on its platform, with around 12.4 million tokens locked up in NFTs. It has a market cap of $500 million, and a price of $0.58 per token.
Ethereum ($ETH)
You have most likely already heard of Ethereum due to its popularity.
Ethereum is the biggest software platform
type of cryptocurrency, and most metaverse games, platforms, and tokens are all built on top of it. So if the metaverse succeeds, then most likely Ethereum will succeed.
Ethereum is already seen as one of the better, safer investments in crypto due to its massive market cap, and the wide variety of applications that use smart contracts built on its network. Along with Bitcoin, Ethereum should already be a backbone of crypto investing. Having metaverse tokens be built on it is just the cherry on top.
Ethereum has a market cap of $195 billion, a circulating supply of 121 million tokens, and a price of $1,600 per ETH. It has seen an all time high of almost $5,000.
Metaverse Stock
The metaverse has a wide variety of stock to choose from. There are social, gaming, and tech companies all creating and improving in the metaverse.
Meta (FB)
Even if you have never heard of Meta, you already know who it is. It’s Facebook.
Facebook changed their name to Meta because they are starting to branch out and focus more on the metaverse. Facebook is the largest social media company and it is basically trying to bring social media to the virtual world.
Mark Zuckerburg must believe the metaverse is the next step to the internet or he wouldn’t have taken such a risk as changing the name of one of the most popular companies on Earth.
It looks like Meta is developing software that would allow users to be in the same virtual room together, like hanging out except you don’t have to leave your house. Your friends will have avatars that could look like them and your environment can change to anything from a cave to being in space to being in Dubai.
Not only is Facebook developing software to connect people virtually, but they are working on the hardware of the future too. With Oculus, they are the leader in virtual reality headsets. The Oculus stands out because it's cheap compared to other VR headsets, and you don't need a multi thousand dollar PC in order to run it. It comes ready to go right out of the box.
Meta is definitely one of the frontrunners when it comes to the metaverse.
Roblox (RBLX)
Roblox is basically a children’s game, but they have fully embraced the metaverse. In Roblox you create games, other people can then play your games, or you can go and play other people’s games.
A giant gaming platform with a massive amount of users is the perfect candidate for helping propel the metaverse forward. Soon users may be able to design their own virtual worlds and allow other users to experience their creations like they are there in person.
Roblox isn’t just a gaming platform either. It also has a social aspect. Artists like Lil Nas X have held virtual concerts on the platform. Chipotle has even dabbled a bit. Nothing sounds cooler than going to a concert without having to leave your home.
If Roblox continues its success it could be one of the top metaverse platforms in the future.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Nvidia is very important for the success of the metaverse because of two things: hardware and software.
Nvidia is well known for making hardware like graphic cards and other chips that are essential in the hardware that brings people into the metaverse. They also have been the best friends of
cryptocurrency miners in recent years.
Nvidia has also pivoted into the software game and is creating applications for self-driving cars, cryptocurrencies, cloud gaming, and virtual reality.
One of those applications is called the Nvidia Omniverse. This is a virtual platform that allows collaboration and real-time simulations. It’s aimed at bringing designers, creators, engineers, and researchers together in the virtual world to be able to work on projects.
Since Nvidia is working on both hardware and software for the metaverse, it seems like a great investment if you see the metaverse becoming extremely popular.
Coinbase (COIN)
Coinbase is another public company that you can invest in and while not directly involved with the metaverse like the three mentioned above, it does play a role on the crypto side of things.
Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange where you can buy and sell cryptocurrency with money. Many of the metaverse tokens that people are investing in are listed on Coinbase. If there is a metaverse token that starts to get popular, it will most likely be added to Coinbase. They are constantly adding new tokens.
If these tokens get popular and more valuable, Coinbase will passively reap the benefits due to the demand for these tokens. Demand for metaverse tokens will bring new users to the platform, making Coinbase even more popular.
An investment in Coinbase is an investment in the growth of the metaverse as a whole.
Summary
The metaverse is the immersive, virtual side of the internet. Many companies and cryptocurrencies are getting involved with the metaverse making it a potential gold mine for investments.
Investing in the metaverse is easy. For crypto you will likely want an exchange like Coinbase or Gemini. For stocks, Robinhood is perfect for beginner investors.
If you are looking to invest in the crypto side of the metaverse you have a few choices including NFTs and tokens. Some metaverse cryptos are Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Enjin Coin.
On the stock side of the metaverse there are many different types of companies to choose from like Meta, Roblox or Nvidia.
Now that you know how to invest in the metaverse, learn the
best tips for investing in cryptocurrency.
