Introduction from our CEO, Jawad Ashraf
Hello again, and welcome to Virtua’s monthly news blog!
The final part of the Virtua Digital Ownership Report 2022 landed this month, and looks at the value of digital items – including digital items and digital investments in the metaverse. The results are incredibly insightful, indicating that future generations are taking digital land ownership in the metaverse very seriously.
Taking a look at the UK results specifically, with the cost of physical real estate at an all-time high, Gen Zers in the UK are eyeing up the metaverse as their chance to get onto the property ladder. Over half (60%) revealed they are more likely to buy digital land due to it being more affordable, and over half (51%) think digital real estate will provide a more significant return on investment than brick-and-mortar properties in five years’ time.
Owning a piece of virtual land in the metaverse will allow users to build a customisable space to socialise, display their digital items and NFTs, and generally interact with others and their surroundings through a 3D avatar. Landowners will also be able to build unique structures, and later landscape and personalise their environment, as well as play exclusive metaverse games.
Younger generations in the UK are also far more prepared for the metaverse, with 39% of Gen Zers, and 42% of millennials, stating they feel ready to enter the metaverse, compared to just 7% of those over the age of 55. Nearly a third (32%) of all those surveyed believe it will provide an opportunity to reinvent themselves, while nearly half (46%) of Gen Zers think it will allow them to be their true, authentic selves.
We recently launched Cardano Island, and have some pretty spectacular plans for our soon-to-launch metaverse. We hope to create an open and safe space that’s accessible to all, where Gen Z will be welcome, but also anyone else open to exploring the metaverse and taking a leap into a virtual world.
You can read and download the full Digital Ownership Report 2022, which encompasses findings from both the US and UK, by clicking the button below, and I’ll see you next month with more updates!
Virtua News: Jawad Ashraf, Our CEO and Co-Founder, Won ‘Meta Leader of the Year’ at the GB Tech Web3 Awards
Hosted by Motivate Media Group and GB Tech Talk (a Gulf Business brand) with the support of Arte, a Web3 community, the GB Tech Web3 Awards attracted over 100 key decision makers, startups, and organisations in the blockchain space. A total of 15 awards were given to some of the best and brightest in the industry, selected by a panel of leading expert judges who chose their winners based on their knowledge and expertise in the market.
After winning the ‘Meta Leader of the Year’ award, our CEO Jawad Ashraf said: “We’re only just at the cusp of Web3 adoption, and I am honoured to have been recognised as the Meta Leader of the Year. This achievement has come at a time when we’re taking significant steps into the metaverse world with our soon-to-launch metaverse, and we are incredibly proud that our efforts are being recognised by the industry.”
Virtua News: The Cardano Island Land Claim Event Has Begun!
Owners of Cardano Island Land Deeds can now claim their Land Plots and choose each plot’s location (subject to the availability of a specific plot location). The Land Claim Event schedule is organised according to the rarity of the Land Deeds, and is taking place over 5 days – but land claiming will continue beyond the end of the fifth day. Check out the infographic on the right to learn more about the Land Claim Event schedule, click here for a guide to the Cardano Island map, click here to mint a Land Deed if you don’t have one yet (minting is open until 4 October at 5pm UTC), and click here to claim your Land Plot if you already have a Land Deed!
For the latest Cardano Island updates, join our Discord by clicking this button:
Industry News: The Ethereum Blockchain Completed “The Merge”, Now Uses Proof of Stake Consensus
Ethereum now uses 99% less energy, vastly reducing its environmental impact and completing the first stage of its upgrade roadmap, known as “The Merge”. This is especially good news for Layer 2 services such as Polygon (which Virtua’s non-Cardano NFTs are minted on), which already work tirelessly to make Ethereum more scalable while minimising its carbon footprint. Polygon previously accounted for just 0.48% of Ethereum’s total emissions – and its own emissions have been cut by 99.92% following The Merge.
Polygon is also working towards becoming carbon negative; more information can be found on Polygon’s blog here.
Industry News: NFTs Can Be Posted on Instagram and Facebook
We’ve been covering all the updates around Instagram and Facebook’s ongoing NFT integration project over the last several months – and users can now post their NFTs from digital wallets! Those wallets can be connected to either app in order to post across both platforms, making the process more convenient. Meta’s “Meta Pay” payments platform may also expand to include crypto payments, as well as digital asset lending and investing – so Meta is clearly still planning to further expand into the world of Web3.
Virtua News: Kenji Sasaki Has Invested in Virtua
Next Chymia has invested in Virtua, and is backing us ahead of our metaverse launch. The consultancy and investment group has supported many well-known projects in the blockchain space, including Cardano and its parent company IOHK. Next Chymia’s mission is to make the world a better place through blockchain technology as an ethical investor.
Next Chymia CEO Kenji Sasaki was an early-stage investor and a founder of the Cardano network, which through the leadership of Charles Hoskinson has become one of the top five blockchain networks globally.
What’s Next?
As well as our ongoing metaverse launch programme and IP/art projects, we’re also putting out a lot of video/audio content and Twitter Spaces covering AMAs; development updates; partnership discussions; VFLECT updates; the achievements and stories of women in NFTs; “Meet the Team” videos; “Virtua Vibes” chat sessions; and “Virtua Talks”, a long-form video series about key industry topics from gaming to virtual real estate, law, and of course the metaverse and NFTs!
Our Community Team constantly monitors everything that our community is talking about, and we use all kinds of feedback to create a metaverse and community experience that you’ll really love. Everyone’s voice counts – so if you have some thoughts or ideas, or just want to keep up with the latest updates, follow us on Discord, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Telegram, Reddit, TikTok, or Medium – and sign up to our mailing list here!
