Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) recent rebrand is sparking interest in the metaverse, unlocking a new dimension of online interaction for investors to profit from. While some are keen on Meta — the future of the social media giant — others want something a bit more decentralized. This means a handful of so-called meta coins are starting to reap the benefits.
The rebrand of Facebook last week into Meta marks a pivot in which Facebook hopes to create the future of social media. CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the company’s plans for bringing users into the metaverse, which is a three-dimensional, virtual experience. You can sit in a virtual conference room and meet with coworkers from your home, you can go to virtual concerts, or you can teleport to your friends and have a virtual chat. It’s a sort of sandbox-version of reality, where you can do anything and everything you want.
Rather than allowing Facebook to dictate the metaverse, it is clear many want a more decentralized approach. Through the blockchain, users themselves can govern how the metaverse takes form and shifts over time. The community can also put together all of the resources needed to run a metaverse without corporate hands guiding it; operating nodes and developing applications can be an entirely community-sourced venture.
Thanks to Facebook’s rebrand shedding light on the metaverse as a concept, investors are now seeking exposure to meta coins — cryptos associated with metaverse projects. By investing in these coins, buyers are giving their co-sign to the decentralized vision for the metaverse.
Although the metaverse largely exists in the realm of science fiction, there are plenty of options to invest in its blockchain-based future. Here are three meta coins looking like leaders of the pack:
- Decentraland (CCC:MANA-USD)
- Ankr (CCC:ANKR-USD)
- Axie Infinity (CCC:AXS-USD)
Meta Coins to Watch: Decentraland (MANA-USD)
With these meta coins, investors gain exposure to yet another rapidly growing class of cryptocurrencies, following in the footsteps of plays on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Each presents a different take on the metaverse and contribution toward it.
Decentraland is one of the brightest examples of what a decentralized metaverse should and does look like. With Decentraland, one can jump into the metaverse right now, creating an avatar and entering a three-dimensional social space. The network is entirely owned and operated by its users. No corporation has a say in how the network operates or the changes it will make; that’s all up to the users themselves.
Recently, the network saw great success in bridging social interaction and live entertainment with its Metaverse Festival. Users could drop in and virtually gather to listen to live music; a variety of artists performed at the event, including electronic dance music producer and festival headliner Deadmau5.
Axie Infinity (AXS-USD)
Likewise, Axie Infinity provides users with its own unique take on the metaverse. The NFT-based video game challengers users to breed unique creatures to fight against other real-life players. There’s also a metaverse element in the game’s top-down homeland feature, where users buy plots of land and commune in virtual towns.
Through the game, users can also generate real-life passive income simply from playing, allowing some to submerge themselves into the metaverse as a way of earning a living.
Meta Coins to Watch: Ankr (ANKR-USD)
Ankr is not a metaverse play in itself, but rather a network interested in pushing Web3 development. Web3, an evolved version of the internet as we know it, will see the web relocated to the blockchain. Apps will become faster and more secure, and freedom of expression will be emphasized and uninfluenced by higher powers. As such, it is an important space for the future of the metaverse; the two industries share common goals and will likely contribute to each others’ success.
With Ankr, users can easily create and manage their own nodes. Nodes can then be deployed to different blockchains. There, users can automatically validate transactions and contribute to better streamlining the new, decentralized web.
Plus, a cryptic tweet from the Ankr founder has many investors speculating that the network could announce a larger role in the future of the metaverse.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
