This article comes fromDecrypt, Original Author: Andrew Hayward
Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang
Summary:
This article comes from
, Original Author: Andrew Hayward
Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tangsecondary titleSummary:- Facebook will spend $50 million over the next two years on projects and collaborations related to the Metaverse.- Metaverse refers to shared online spaces that can be used for social interaction, work, gaming, etc.
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg
expressed in June
, the social media giant is on its way to becoming a "metaverse company." Now, the company is putting it into action --
Plans to spend $50 million over the next two years
, to help realize this metaverse.
Today, Facebook announced the XR Programs and Research Fund, a two-year initiative to fund its own projects and external research exploring the future of social interaction online. According to the statement, this is Facebook's "starting point" as it tries to co-create the online metaverse of the future.
What is the Metaverse? It’s a term we hear a lot in the crypto industry, especially when decentralized projects are trying to create the online worlds and experiences of the future that are free from the oversight and control of a central entity, like Facebook.
Essentially, the Metaverse refers to shared online spaces where users (represented by 3D avatars) coexist and interact together. It's been featured in works like "Snow Crash" and "Ready Player One," and Ethereum-based metaverse worlds like Decentraland and CryptoVoxels already exist. The upcoming game "The Sandbox" is another prime example.
Proponents of the Metaverse argue that, in addition to opening the door to new social and gaming experiences, the Metaverse will help change the nature of work and provide users around the world with new digital economic opportunities. In a sense, this is similar to how DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) were built to disrupt traditional corporations.
This is exciting, potentially revolutionary stuff — which is why some Metaverse builders are unhappy with the prospect of Facebook trying to lead Metaverse development.
For example, in mid-August, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, said in an interview that Zuckerberg is trying to predict the next stage of the Internet, because now Facebook has been "left behind" and people's attention to Facebook The level of trust is not as high as in the past, so building your own platform may not be ideal. Vitalik Buterin suggested that Zuckerberg should build on the existing blockchain.
Buterin further explained that blockchain and cryptocurrencies have grown rapidly over the past decade, with concepts starting to challenge existing large players in fields such as finance, technology and consumer goods. Traditional companies such as Facebook, Twitter, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs are trying to incorporate blockchain into their existing businesses. Blockchain technology in particular poses a major threat to Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. These established companies will eventually lose out to the "industry" upstart". In addition, Vitalik Buterin also looked forward to the future planning of the Ethereum network. He expressed the hope that Ethereum will be able to run the Metaverse in the next 5-10 years.
