Is the Metaverse brewing the prototype of a digital nation?

This article was published on Crypto Valley Live, author: William M. Peaster, translation: Arvin W.

As mainstream coverage of blockchain-based Metaverse technology reaches an all-time high, the development of this field is gradually attracting people's attention.

In short, you can think of the Metaverse as a collection of interconnected or always-connectable virtual environments, similar to how we view the Internet as a collection of Clear Web and Deep Web sites.

Compared to the recent rise of virtual reality and online domains, the Metaverse is certainly in a relatively early stage, but as it continues to develop, whether unevenly or explosively, it will inevitably begin to mature.

Therefore, with the popularity of projects like Cryptovoxels and Decentraland on the Ethereum chain, a blockchain-based Metaverse that is eye-catching and widespread is rapidly developing.

These unique virtual worlds are so fascinating because, despite their starkly different styles, they share something that non-blockchain VR projects do not possess: an interconnected and immutable infrastructure, represented by the shared public ecology and economic standards through Ethereum and NFTs.

Thus, in the history of the Metaverse, there has never been such a highly shared and digitally native ecological economic infrastructure. Therefore, at least overall, this Ethereum-centered Metaverse has a great potential to grow in unprecedented ways, with immeasurable room for development.

It can be argued that Ethereum has already addressed the economic ecosystem of the Metaverse, at least sufficiently to support part of the current explosive development of the Metaverse. This has greatly aided those virtual-first communities, allowing people to gather and expand new opportunities, thus thriving. This will be a new Renaissance, powered by open public infrastructures like Ethereum, enabling all of us to participate in this cultural wave in the ways we desire.

In this context, I believe the best way to focus on the Ethereum Metaverse is to understand it as an emerging digital nation. As noted by Accelerated Capital in a recent article on Metaverse Labor, digital landowner Flying Falcon aptly celebrated the historical moment we are currently in, witnessing the "rise of digital nations."

In February 2021, Flying Falcon, who purchased 9 Genesis Axie Infinity digital parcels, specifically stated:

"We are witnessing a historic moment; the rise of a digital system nation with clearly defined, irrevocable property rights. The core territory has entertainment value, social value, and economic value in the form of future resource flows."

Here, I believe that analyzing social value and the like is very clear for anyone wanting to understand the Ethereum Metaverse. As a digital nation, the Ethereum VR world possesses its own "entertainment value, social value, and economic value."

Of course, people have always been able to meaningfully express entertainment and social value in virtual spaces. However, Ethereum has solved the problem of expressing more serious economic value throughout the Metaverse, which in turn has promoted the development of digital society. This is why Ethereum's VR world projects can be considered digital nations, even if they are still in a relatively early stage.

At the same time, these digital worlds will continue to thrive in unique ways, just like online communities. From here, anything is possible.