Internet is Becoming a Billion Worlds Bigger

by Aaron R K

Now that the internet is about a third of a century old (meaning its popular form, not earlier versions), it has arrived at a major crossroads, one might say a point of maturity in the Digital Age. A number of technologies, notably blockchain and NFTs, merging with 3D immersive experiences, are transforming the Web. The flat, scroll-&-click user interface is gradually being augmented with, or replaced by, 3D systems, some with AR and VR features offering varying degrees of 360 digital surroundings. Blockchain adds user ownership of content and other digital assets, greater security, validation of authenticity, and the ability to take individually-owned digital goods across gaming and social media platforms. Online horizons are now determined more by imagination, design and production skill than by the technological and infrastructure limitations of the past.

The metaverse narrative, the subject of much hype in 2022, especially Facebook rebranded as Meta, is still alive and well, a major part of the growing blockchain space, and a recipient of significant investment. We’re at the tip of the iceberg, in terms of innovation and adoption. Since veteran Web services have been around for about a fourth to a third of  century, it is not unreasonable to ponder about the long-lasting foundations currently being constructed, of networks and protocols, which might be in use for a century or more, and providing visions of dreamed of worlds.

Despite the current challenges of our digital times, one may also be elated by current technological trends. Worlds of free expression and creativity, and abundant prosperity, are coming into view, still off at the dreamy horizon, but there none the less. I’m talking about what’s feasible, not perfection. There’s room for such utopian dreams to successfully coexist with realism. And there are very good reasons for this enthusiasm: Web 3, the decentralized system of communication and commerce, offers empowerment to users, and is a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity, attracting waves of investment and floods of creative engineering and artistic production.  The decentralized internet, not long a ago little more than a theory, is rapidly gaining mainstream adoption, some say at twice the speed of the original internet.

SurfWeb3.com and our partners are excited about upcoming projects in the space of this rapidly evolving frontier. Our development strategy includes games, stores, educational and marketing services, together with activities involving Web 3 domain names and decentralized websites.

Two metaverse platforms have been chosen as locations for launching these endeavors: the Sandbox and TCG World.

Here it might be beneficial to share a few facts about these two online worlds, to illustrate why each is a promising setting for Web 3 development.

Boasting a record-breaking $5 million digital land sale, vast 3D environments with superb VR graphics, and a partners like Wall Street Bets and Rev3al cyber security, TCG World hosted the first ever Metaverse Expo, in Las Vegas in July of 2022. This big event took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center July 8th – 10th, with renowned speakers and exhibitions, along with NFT and virtual-land giveaways. The record high sum of $5million, for virtual land in TCG World (“TCG” stands for “Trading Card Game”), was paid by the financial publishing company Curzio Research (the $5 million spent on the acquisition seems to have consisted of traditional currency combined with crypto assets, but whether we call it a $5 million transaction or not, it remains impressive). The previous record in this category was $4.3 million, paid for land in the Sandbox.

TCG World and the Sandbox are both sandbox style games. A “sandbox game” is “a type of computer game in which players have a high degree of freedom and can do a wide variety of activities”. In these online worlds, players have a large amount of space available, in which to move their avatars, and explore diverse environments. These digital environments may be created by users, game makers, digital creators, and/or digital land owners. Importantly, these digital lands are highly customizable, and useful as 3D “Web-Worlds” (“online worlds”), for tailor-made 3D experiences, combined with digital  asset ownership.

The word “computer game” is not a proper description in this context, since these digital lands provide a wide range of functions, including gaming venues, but also including online classrooms, spaces for business meetings and events, concerts, cultural and social gathering, marketing, branding opportunities, and more. Businesses investing in virtual land on the blockchain include: Warner Music Group, Nike, the crypto exchange giant Binance, banking giants J. P. Morgan and HSBC, popular Netflix series, the Walking Dead, Dominos Pizza, Adidas, Gucci, accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and numerous other prominent corporations, celebrities and organizations.

While large businesses own land in these blockchain metaverses, a significantly high portion of such digital land is owned by individuals and small businesses. TCG World reached 7,000 land owners by March, 2022, while the Sandbox recently stated that, in January of the same year, they counted 17,000 land owners. Though multiple crypto wallets linked to particular plots of land, may be owned by the same person (one person with multiple wallets), there is still a good distribution of land to many individuals, not just a few rich investors who own it all. Blockchain metaverse land ownership is distributed widely.

Though some DAOs are plutocracies, dominated by those who possess the majority of DAO tokens, any claims that Web 3 is completely owned, or dominated, by a few venture capitalists, are simply unfounded. Certain categories of value, such as Bitcoin to some degree, and various crypto projects, have excessively high concentrations of assets associated with individual wallets, in relation to  their general, overall ownership. However, generally, crypto assets are widely shared. In fact, when it comes to the popular cryptocurrencies, NFT collections and digital land on the blockchain, in spite of some exceedingly large wallets, whose owners are often referred to as “whales”, there are also a huge number of individuals who own, have owned, or will own these assets. In addition, as more people enter the blockchain space, ownership of virtual land and other digital goods will probably become less concentrated in the hands of the few, with more and more online wealth distributed among the many.

TCG World is divided into regions called Asia, North, East and Forest, surrounding a central zone called City. There are also virtual land plots called farms. Each of these regions have distinct environmental features, such as the snowy climate of North. Plots of virtual land can be purchased on their website, tcg.world, presented in images resembling cards.

These blockchain virtual worlds are actually collections of NFTs, with individual land plots represented by NTFs, connected to the crypto wallets of land owners. Like other NFT collections the owners form a community.

A number of NFT-holder communities have benefited from gifts in the form of crypto assets (known as “airdrops”), provided to NFT holders. 

One of the best know airdrops was when the Bored Ape Yacht club, with jaw-dropping largess, gifted 10,000 ApeCoins to Bored Ape NFT holders, per ape. On the 18th of March, 2022, each ApeCoin was worth a bit over $14, amounting to about $140,000 worth of crypto per NFT that a person had in his or her wallet! For holders of multiple Bored Ape NFTs, it must have been anything but boring! And for those who sold their ApeCoin at the all time high, of $39.40… 

Dragon Cave Club NFTs function as VIP tickets and access passes to exclusive metaverse events. TCG states on Medium.com that the dragon NFT can be used as an access pass to a secret online cave hidden in their metaverse at an undisclosed location. In connection with this, TCG World will hold events, concerts, giveaways, provide whitelist spots and many more benefits to NFT holders.

The Sandbox recently gave substantial amounts of its SAND cryptocurrency to land holders. Needless to say, these gifts are a very welcome feature of blockchain metaverses.