The hot topic right now is all the talk of the “metaverse” — the moniker given to the idea that our lives will take place more and more in a fully digital setting rather than a mostly physical one.
The theory is that our work lives, our transactions, our social interactions and most of the other ways we interact with others will become ones that happen across an evolved and interconnected digital space called the metaverse.
As we build toward this future, organizations are starting to look for the best places to make their mark while the metaverse is still in its nascency. For many of them, blockchain companies are gaining a greater amount of interest.
It starts with the simple equation of buying while the price is still low in order to sell when the price is high a few years down the road.
Bitcoin, the most commonly known use of blockchain, has already surpassed entry-level prices, but most other uses for blockchain are still at the beginning stages and still have the low price of entry needed for a buyer to take interest.
If bitcoin’s success is even a fraction of what is in store for other blockchain applications, many of those who buy at today’s prices may see large returns in the not-too-distant future.
Besides the profit potential, blockchain companies could also be seen as a safer purchase since there is a significant amount of future-proofing that comes with any software with blockchain at its core.
Blockchain’s flexibility of use and hundreds, possibly even thousands, of potential applications combined with an ever-growing need for enhanced digital security means it can adapt and grow as the metaverse expands.
Similarly, companies themselves can also adapt to the changing needs of a marketplace in ways that many other cryptocurrencies or other digital opportunities can’t. The nimble nature of blockchain means there is safety in its future.
Of course, the same principles of marketplace economics still apply so not every company will succeed, but overall, the underlying structure of a blockchain application means it has the adaptability to survive better than most.
It is also starting to become clear that blockchain, and the metaverse in general, is going to create new ways of generating revenue. In the same way that the first wave of the internet saw URLs become a hot commodity, with everything from celebrityname.com to places like pets.com becoming a high-priced purchase, the next iteration could be blockchain-integrated digital “footprints.”
There is one word of caution throughout all this, however. There are many blockchain companies that have not progressed beyond the concept stage or even much further than producing a few whitepapers.
Any organization needs to make sure they discern between a company in its early stages (with the low price of entry mentioned above) and one that is still far enough along in its growth that it has viable products in the pipeline.
As blockchain expands into an increasing number of industries, the opportunities to keep an eye out for are ones that provide more than a niche service. Supply chain issues are one use case where blockchain is becoming more of a factor, as are any number of ID verification services.
This can be verifying a person’s identity, such as in the case of voting or remote financial transactions — or verifying the authenticity of goods. Luxury retailers and car manufacturers were some of the first use cases to pick up on the value of blockchain, but this is likely just the beginning.
The gold standard that notes safety in diversifying assets still holds true even though the technology is new. Companies that have done more than one thing — or do one thing that serves a wide variety of clients — could be the ones worth looking into.
The very nature of blockchain technology means its future road map will be varied and broad.
Consequently, the potential for expansion is huge. We have only just begun to see what blockchain has in store for the digital universe, so the growth that will come about in the future is something that could pay off enormously for anyone who invests in such a solution today.
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