**It is one of the most exciting topics of our time and causes a lot of attention even outside the crypto world: The metaverse. Gambling playground, crypto hype or serious investment opportunity after all? The technological possibilities for virtual worlds have long been there and many experts assume that the physical and digital worlds will increasingly merge. At the latest when Facebook announced in October its plans to push into the metaverse, including renaming itself "Meta," the topic has arrived in society. More and more companies are developing strategies to position themselves, and it should be clear that this is an unstoppable megatrend. SMART VALOR now lists promising tokens in a dedicated metaverse section on the investment platform.**
### What is the Metaverse? The term is composed of the Greek meta, which stands for "beyond" or "after" and universe. This at least outlines what it's about: another world, beyond the world we live in today. And yet the explanation remains abstract and raises more questions than it answers. Just as the various definitions that are circulating at best give an idea of what we are dealing with here - or rather what we will be dealing with. Because we are still at the very beginning. Put simply, a metaverse is an online environment where people can interact in real time as avatars. People can meet each other, buy and sell digital art or properties, or participate in live concerts, for example - with real musicians. What sounds futuristic is more of an evolution than a revolution. After all, our needs have changed, especially in the age of Corona, and this has driven digitalization. With long-distance relationships and online collaboration, the real and digital worlds are coming together. Virtual business meetings, cloud-based project management and online events have long since become part of our everyday lives. The metaverse, also known as Web 3.0, could therefore be described as a natural evolution of the Internet. Matthew Ball, venture capitalist and digital expert, offers this attempt of a definition: ***“The Metaverse is a massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds which can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an effectively unlimited number of users with an individual sense of presence, and with continuity of data, such as identity, history, entitlements, objects, communications, and payments.”*** And investment strategist Raoul Pal even called the metaverse a new solar system in an [interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1_LrREYQ8c) with Robert Breedlove. Well-known companies are already positioning themselves in the metaverse. For example, renowned fashion houses appear as sponsors of games, other companies buy NFT characters. And that's just the beginning. The Caribbean nation of Barbados plans to be the first country in the world to open an embassy in the metaverse. An agreement to that effect was reached on November 14 with Decentraland, one of the leading Metaverse platforms.
### Investing in the metaverse For investors, the metaverse is a huge opportunity. Numerous companies are already involved in the market, which is worth billions. In the coming years, strong growth is expected to continue due to the great relevance the topic has for a wide range of economic sectors. To get you started easily and quickly, there is now a special metaverse section on the SMART VALOR platform. As in the DeFi section already launched in October 2021, there will be only selected and carefully vetted projects here, with useful background information on each asset. We will continuously expand the offer and list the best metaverse tokens in four categories: - Games - Virtual Land - NFT Platforms - NFT Artwork The metaverse tokens are available via bank transfer or credit card (CHF, EUR, GBP, USD) or in trade for other cryptocurrencies. ### SMART VALOR Metaverse launches with four exciting tokens **[Decentraland](https://smartvalor.com/en/news/decentraland-building-virtual-world)** is one of the best-known and largest metaverse projects. The virtual reality game, based on the Ethereum blockchain, allows users to buy digital plots of land, which they in turn can use to earn money. Payment in Decentraland is made with MANA, the price of which virtually exploded in November 2021 after a property sale for the equivalent of $2.4 million was announced. **[TheSandbox](https://smartvalor.com/en/news/sandbox-play-to-earn)** is based on a similar concept. Players can buy virtual land, create their own content and applications and sell them on the platform. Last but not least, the game has become known through well-known partners like Atari, LG Technology or rapper Snoop Dogg. The native SAND token is also featured in the first run of metaverse tokens on SMART VALOR. The NFT art market is an exciting and similarly growing sector in the metaverse. On **[SuperRare](https://smartvalor.com/en/news/super-rare-nft-platform)**, artists can create their works and offer them for sale. RARE is the governance token and as crypto art becomes more popular, this asset is expected to grow. Another token that will be listed with the launch of SMART VALOR Metaverse is AXS. It is the currency of **[Axie Infinity](https://smartvalor.com/en/news/axie-infinity-gaming)**, a play-to-earn game that is spread all over the world. Among other things, the AXS token is used to buy Axies, the cuddly characters that can be bred, put to battle, and traded for profit in the game. They have already fetched prices of up to several $100,000. Gaming thus takes on a new meaning: crypto meets gaming, opening up the crypto world to a much larger audience. Moreover, the pandemic offered an alternative source of income for people whose livelihood was threatened. So being able to earn money with blockchain games today is much more than a pleasant side effect of video gaming.
### Gamechanger Metaverse? The success of NFT video games illustrates the transformative impact of the metaverse on our society. There are two interesting aspects to this: - One is the identity that comes with token ownership. In NFT games like Axie Infinity, strong communities have formed. People love their Axies and value community togetherness. The community members help each other out when it comes to using different characters, or strategies, and more. In times of pandemic isolation and the loss of real contacts, this is a positive outlook. - On the other hand, the play-to-earn concept offers the possibility of generating an income. In the Philippines, for example, and in Venezuela, many people started playing video games during the Corona crisis and could feed their family this way. To be able to meet the entry criteria, some NFT games offer scholarships: for example, wealthier players lend their Axies to new players and earn passively from the battle rewards. Win-win situation and financial inclusion all in one!
### Why should you invest now? Not even experts can truly evaluate the potential that the developments surrounding the metaverse will open up for both our society and our economic system. However, what is clear is that blockchain technology is central to the development of the metaverse and Web 3.0, enabling the unique identification of virtual objects and thus forming the basis for trust. Specifically, of importance to the metaverse are: - digital proof of ownership - digital collectability - transfer of value - governance - accessibility - interoperability An investment in the metaverse market is therefore not only a good idea due to promising concepts and impressive price performances. Moreover, what makes the whole thing so fascinating is the interplay of metaverse, cryptocurrencies and blockchain - the next step into a decentralized world. Already, SMART VALOR is serving as an interface between the traditional and new financial systems. Tokenizing assets is the next milestone, as CEO Olga Feldmeier explains in the recently published [mission statement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bGJHQ8-Z9I): ***“This is why blockchain and the metaverse are at the heart of our mission to democratize access to wealth by opening finance and economic inclusion to millions and transforming the way we all live for the better.”*** If you want to participate in the metaverse trend and buy selected tokens, you can do it in a very straightforward way at SMART VALOR. In addition to the ease of use of our exchange, we make it a point to offer all-in-one services to our investors. After all, a high-yield portfolio needs to be balanced. Whether it's classic cryptocurrencies, DeFi tokens, stablecoins or the latest projects in the metaverse – SMART VALOR is the place for your investment in digital assets.