Introduction
“It won’t pay the rent, but that’s okay — when you live in a shithole, there’s always the Metaverse, and in the Metaverse, Hiro Protagonist is a warrior prince.”
- Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash
You’ve probably heard a lot of chatter about the metaverse lately. Whether it have been Mark Zuckerberg changing the name of his conglomerate to Meta or the various plots of digital real estate that have sold for 7 figures, conversations around the metaverse have been rampant. But what really is the metaverse, and how did this concept from a 1992 novel come to reality?
In the widely recognized and beloved 1992 novel ‘Snow Crash’ written by Neal Stephenson, the world has become very digital. Characters in the novel regularly interact in a strange 3D world called the metaverse, where they can do almost anything they want. An entirely alternate reality, available to anyone with a computer and VR goggles.
While this novel presents a much more fleshed out version of the metaverse than what we currently have in our own reality, the concept is very much alive and being built out with each passing day. In short, the metaverse can be defined as a 3D world of augmented reality that is utilized to interact with others and, well, for pretty much any purpose.
For decades, the metaverse seemed like a concept that was too complex to ever be implemented. It wasn’t even a decade ago that virtual reality was a distant idea, let alone an industry that achieved over $1 billion in headset revenues in 2021. It wasn’t until the advent of blockchain technology that the metaverse was viewed as a tangible concept, one that wasn’t too far away from our current lives.
While we might have an idea of what the metaverse looks like today, this is by no means an indication of what might come 5–10 years from now. Without further ado, let’s dive into the metaverse head on and figure out what all the hype is about.
The future of real estate with DOKO
Allow me to introduce you to DOKO.
Building out the financial infrastructure for the metaverse, DOKO is changing the way we view digital real estate right before our eyes. You’ve probably heard about projects like Decentraland or The Sandbox, and how digital plots of land have been getting snatched up from investors of all backgrounds. You can’t blame these visionaries for spending real money on digital land, as digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum have risen however many 1000x since their inception. Why can’t digital land go to the moon, too?
What if you could lease out your digital real estate, just like you can lease a house in the real world? DOKO offers this opportunity. Imagine you’re an investor from a fund and have been tasked with buying a few pieces of real estate on Decentraland. Sure, it’s very possible your investment appreciates in the short term, but what about the long term?
Metaverse projects are very intertwined in the world of cryptocurrency, which we all know has very volatile markets. While a piece of digital real estate might experience a downtrend in unsavory macro market conditions a year from now, the downside of selling for a loss would be infinitely worse than having just held out and seen your investment appreciate more than you might imagine a decade from now.
Because of the smart contracts that power blockchains and digital real estate, your assets never leave your wallet. Sure, you’re leasing them out to an individual or a group, but you possess ownership. This is the future of peer-to-peer transactions, all governed by smart contracts. Opportunities like this are scarce for most individuals in the real world, if available at all. Most of us have a mortgage or are still working to secure our financial futures, so we could never lease our homes out. With digital real estate, options like this are readily available for anyone who wants to take a dive into the metaverse.
Nobody ever thought that companies like Amazon or Google would pan out — they had their more than fair share of skeptics and critics, and while they did eventually rise to the top of the global economy, there were rough times on that path for shareholders. Imagine the possibilities of leasing out your digital real estate and earning a return on investment — all while still possessing ownership. This is what DOKO brings to the table.
Remaining starkly different from traditional real estate doesn’t have to hold digital real estate from adopting some of the similar mechanisms. Those who invest in property typically operate on a longer time frame — why can’t we do the same? DOKO hopes to offer a world of new opportunities for those who are bullish on the metaverse, while also integrating common DeFi mechanics like a real estate treasury. Investors can bond their real estate assets and receive tokens in return, earning an additional yield on top of their real estate investment.
The integration of DeFi and the metaverse will be huge. The market hasn’t yet caught on to the opportunities that are out there for those who capitalize on these early, and the many individuals who are interested in products like these.
If that’s not enough to convince you yet, DOKO will also be offering collateralized peer-to-peer lending. Want a loan but don’t have enough of a credit score to get one in the non-metaverse world? Hop over to DOKO and collateralize your plot(s) of land and get one, simple as that.
On top of all this, DOKO also offers the ability to view your metaverse portfolio on a dashboard. This means no more messy spreadsheets to help you keep track of your assets on a million different chains, just one clean view for all of your investments.
What are you waiting for, anon?
Final thoughts
5–10 years from now, there will be people kicking themselves for fading the metaverse. No matter what side of the coin you fall on, it’s almost idiotic to deny that the metaverse will have a place in the world. Just as journalists and out of touch individuals claimed the internet and computers would never catch on, there will be no shortage of metaverse slander on social media and face-to-face conversations. You can’t blame people for being afraid or unaware of the implications — we’re talking about a 3D world where we can do everything we’ve ever wanted and more.
Hell, the media has practically crucified Mark Zuckerberg for his bold transition to the metaverse. Remember that 25% drop in META’s stock price? More of this is coming for anyone who dares to step into the fray of cryptocurrencies and virtual reality.
However, this shouldn’t be something to fear or quiver at — this is incredibly bullish. Back in 1995, Bill Gates became the laughing stock of the David Letterman Show for a night. No, this wasn’t because of his nerdy outfit or his odd way of speech, but rather for his bold convictions on the internet. It’s easy to say “I told you so” looking back in hindsight, but this is precisely what the phrase was invented for. One day early adopters and backers of the metaverse will be saying the same.
No one would have ever imagined a world where school lessons were held over Zoom, or a world where 2 years later we’re still struggling to overcome the challenges of the transition to digital life. But somehow we’ve made it work, and it doesn’t feel like we’re going back anytime soon. This has been discussed ad infinitum by political pundits, economists and everyone in-between, but it’s the truth. The metaverse is a natural next step in the evolution of our daily routines.
Sure, you might not be grocery shopping in the metaverse like many have claimed — but who would want to do that in the first place?
While we’re still far off from the world Neal Stephenson dreamed up in ‘Snow Crash’ (for better or for worse), the transition to some kind of metaverse integration is coming, and it’s coming faster than any of us could imagine.
About DOKO
DOKO aims to ignite the economic engine in metaverse by providing DeFi products tailored for metaverse real estate — an all-in-one platform that provides non-custodial real estate leasing, collateralized loans and a community-owned real estate treasuryDAO.
Join us on Discord, follow us on Twitter, or visit us at DOKO.ONE.
