Meta Platforms Inc. — formerly known as Facebook Inc. — Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have all invested heavily in virtual environments known as the Metaverse. Just like in the real world, those looking to own “real estate” or start a business related to the metaverse often need loans, financial support and guidance.
Metaverse is a term used to describe a version of online interaction in which traditional messages and video chats are complemented by virtual scenes and images, giving users the opportunity to customize their interactions online.
For now, this reality is mostly contained within headsets or on computer screens, allowing users to experience spaces such as virtual office buildings, shopping malls, and event spaces.
Bloomberg Intelligence predicts the metaverse will be an $800 billion marketing opportunity by 2024. Bloomberg estimates that online game makers and gaming hardware are the main markets he could exceed $400 billion, with the rest being live entertainment and social media.
Meta plans to invest $50 billion in the Metaverse over the next few years to develop virtual reality glasses and robotic arms to connect real-world users to the virtual world.
Small and medium-sized enterprises
While large companies are building frameworks for gadgets and metaverses, smaller companies are looking for ways to create experiences and sell products to virtual visitors. So how do businesses find the funds to invest in virtual stores, office buildings, or event spaces?
Unlike in the early days of the Internet when you could get a URL for under $100, it now costs a minimum of $20,000 to $40,000 to start using “land” in the metaverse. Many entrepreneurs and small business owners need loans to claim their rights in this new virtual space.
There will be a number of legal issues regarding funding arising from the Metaverse. This is an area of law that has caught the attention of his DLA Piper partner Tom Ara, who has chapters in Downtown and Century City.
Ara advises clients on the future of Web 3.0 or the Metaverse. The first iteration of the Internet as some of us may remember was basic web pages and email. Web 2.0 came along with the advent of social media.
Ara believes that the main problem with the 3rd age of the Internet will be how the metaverse will be managed and accessed.
“Zoom, Microsoft Teams, they are already versions of the metaverse,” says Ara. But as the space expands and real money becomes involved, the question arises as to “how to control it in a legal way.”
This should be a safe place for business and consumers.
Brandon Johnson
terra zero
“People will want to know if there is connectivity between metaverses built by different companies,” said Ara. “Can virtual identities be carried across the metaverse? Will headsets traverse the metaverse?”
Many of these questions remain open. Ultimately, Ara stated, “People want to be where their friends are.”
For business entrepreneurs who want to set up shop in the Metaverse, where their customers hang out in virtual reality is currently a gamble. But for those who want to take a little risk, there are companies willing to participate.
“Metaverse Mortgage”
In January, Vancouver, British Columbia-based TerraZero Technologies Inc., which has a U.S. subsidiary in Century City, announced that its Ethereum-based metaverse platform, called Ethereum-based Metaverse Platform, signed one of its customers and the first-ever Metaverse announced that it had completed one of its mortgages. Decentraland.
how does that work? Prospective customers can access the TerraZero platform online to explore products and listings such as land size, location, and applicable prefabricated build elements in the metaverse of their choice.
TerraZero CEO and founder Dan Reitzik told Business Journal: “It’s a small business loan.”
Reitzik explained that their first Metaverse mortgage customer said, “This is what I’m trying to build and this is how I make money.”
Once the client signs the mortgage contract, the land NFT (Non-Fungible Token) will be held with TerraZero as the registered owner until the loan is repaid based on the agreed terms.
TerraZero grants deployment rights to clients so they can build metaverses, organize events, run digital storefronts, and host internal offices.The client makes monthly payments until the mortgage is paid off, after which the NFT is fully
client.
TerraZero did not disclose the down payment or interest rate paid by the customer, but noted that it was a two-year mortgage.
Today, any user can connect their crypto wallet to the Decentraland app and travel around the world looking for investment opportunities. The world is full of music venues, parks and casinos.
Metaverse assets are finite, and like cryptocurrencies, the amount that can be issued is limited, so its rarity is valuable. However, there is no limit to the number of metaverses you can build. Both cryptocurrencies and NFTs are volatile assets, but they have proven to be highly lucrative in certain circumstances. have had some success.
At the moment, the Metaverse works with cryptocurrencies.
“In fact, 98% of consumers have never owned a cryptocurrency wallet,” said TerraZero Chief Experience Officer Brandon Johnson.
He said there needs to be a way for consumers to use their regular credit cards to make the use of money in the metaverse more widely adopted.
“This has to be a safe place for businesses and consumers,” said Johnson.