Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, claimed that the concept of metaverse is still at a fledgeling phase and vehement corporate attempts to construct a virtual world will backslide. He also seemed to take a dig on Facebook`s Meta, suggesting a “misfire”.
The metaverse is suddenly everywhere from the front pages of national newspapers to the latest fashion trends to multi billion dollar companies incorporating it into shaping their future. The metaverse will inspire a bustling new economy at every level transforming every aspect from gaming to work, and socialization to research. Recently, Mark Zuckerberg referred to the metaverse as an “embodied internet” in his founder’s letter announcing Facebook’s rebranding to Meta.
The Metaverse is Still at a Nascent Phase
The "metaverse" is going to happen but I don't think any of the existing corporate attempts to intentionally create the metaverse are going anywhere. https://t.co/tVUfq4CWmP
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 30, 2022
In a Twitter thread discussing how the metaverse might look, Buterin suggested that fervent corporate attempts to construct the metaverse will fail as it is still at an infancy stage and people do not yet “know” what the metaverse should look like. He believes that global conglomerates including Facebook will endure a tough time establishing their concept of the metaverse. He wrote,
“The “metaverse” is going to happen but I don’t think any of the existing corporate attempts to intentionally create the metaverse are going anywhere.”
According to the discussion, Buterin believes that the several corporate projects that are underway do not look favourable as it is “too early to know what people want”. He criticized Meta, the tech giant founded and run by Mark Zuckerberg, stating, “anything Facebook creates now will misfire.”
My critique is deeper than "Metaverse Wikipedia will beat Metaverse Encyclopedia Britannica". It's that we don't really know the definition of "the metaverse" yet, it's far too early to know what people actually want. So anything Facebook creates now will misfire.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 31, 2022
Allan Cook, Managing Director of Deloitte Digital and leader of Deloitte’s Digital Reality business also seems to share the same thoughts as Buterin. In a statement, Cook, said that the metaverse proposes a very different platform to the traditional internet and depending on different perceptions, people will get a different view of what it is. He reiterated,
“There’s a complete lack of real agreement as to what it is or what it does or what it should be. It’s like the blind men and the elephant.”
The Ballooning Metaverse Industry
Some major global corporations, like Boeing, Samsung, UPS, PwC among many others have already dipped their toes in the metaversal pool, establishing branded presences on independent platforms such as Decentraland and The Sandbox.
Experts anticipate rapid metaverse growth in the near future. Goldman Sachs projected that between 15% and 33% of the global spend on digital transactions will eventually switch to the metaverse. Citigroup predicted that the market value of the metaverse will reach $8 trillion to $13 trillion by 2030.
