The Metaverse is Fast Becoming a Global Concept; What Trends Will Likely Dominate in 2022?

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The popularity of Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) rose significantly in 2021, a trend that most crypto natives expect to continue this year. According to a report by Dapp Radar, the NFT ecosystem generated over USD 23 billion in trading volumes, with concepts such as the metaverse becoming a hot topic within and outside the crypto community. 

Going by the adoption rate of NFTs, more people and corporations are gradually accepting the possibility of existing in the virtual world. So, what are the fundamentals behind decentralized virtual worlds? Simply put, the metaverse can be viewed as a virtual ecosystem where people can replicate real-world activities, allowing them to exist as digital characters. 

As far as development goes, the metaverse witnessed a surge in user activity during the last quarter of 2021. This spike is a result of emerging metaverse ecosystems such as The Sandbox and Decentraland, which feature virtual lands that can be developed or enhanced with valuable digital collectibles to increase the underlying value. 

Notably, virtual land prices on The Sandbox and Decentraland have shot up by over 500%, per the Dapp Radar report. One of the highest-grossing sales on Decentraland is a virtual piece of land dubbed Fashion Street Estate, which sold for over USD 2.42 million. That said, there are more upcoming virtual ecosystems that are shaping the future of the metaverse to include stakeholders from the art industry.  

For a long time, art has been viewed as a hobby instead of an activity that one could make a living from. However, the narrative is slowly changing as the world