A Utrust original on why sufficient security is impossible to achieve using centralized technology
Why We Build is a series. You don’t need to read the first chapters, since there’s no narrative continuity, but here’s what they are and where to find them:
The first chapter is about the relationship between fiat money and debt, and how true ownership of fiat is impossible to prove. You can find it here. If you’d rather watch the short video we made to illustrate this concept, go to our YouTube channel, right here.
The second chapter of the series is about inflation, and why the fiat system needs money to lose value over time to function. It too is already out, and you can find the blog post here, and the video here.
The third part is about security, why legacy systems will always have structural issues that make them unreliable, and why crypto and blockchain were designed to provide you with an alternative. Find it here. And, of course, the video is also available here.
Last but not least, our fourth instalment is about unbanking and underbanking, the phenomena where traditional centralised institutions have excluded one third of the world population from having a financial life. Read the article here.
This time, however, all our focus is on how humanity is preparing for the greatest of journeys, expanding every one of our lives to multiple digital universes, shaped and built by our own imaginations.
Full disclosure: we are building one ourselves.
The metaverse is more than you can imagine
When you think of the metaverse, we hope this isn’t what you picture.
Sadly, the idea of the metaverse as we see it portrayed in legacy media is the idea of massive Web2 corporations. Closed worlds, commercialized by corporations, ad-based, where you are a user yet own nothing.
This is a vision of the metaverse devoid of all imagination, freedom, and creativity. It goes without saying that it is a vision entirely incompatible with the ethos of Web3.
The metaverse, we’re happy to say, belongs to no one.
The term is commonly used to describe any virtual world that is fully immersive and interactive. Any place where you can meet with friends, play games, shop, attend concerts, and even work, all in a digital environment. It’s like a combination of the internet, video games, and virtual reality, all rolled into one.
Think of it like a giant playground where anything is possible and the only limit is your imagination. It’s an exciting concept that’s still in the early stages of development. But that’s not all the metaverse is or can be.
Here’s Jon Radoff, author of the Building the Metaverse blog:
“The metaverse exists. The most-common definitions of the ‘metaverse’ are:
1) an embodied virtual-reality experience;
2) a Web3 framework for economic interoperability;
3) a creative platform for experiences (e.g., Roblox).
Some current versions may be a hybrid of these. I think all of these ‘product-centric’ definitions fail to look at the underlying culture and social change. The fundamental shift is toward thinking of virtual property and virtual identity as ‘real’ and/or important.”
The metaverse can be many things. In many ways, it already exists. Part of our lives is already spent online. Our banking, dating, socializing, shopping, gaming, and many other aspects of what constitutes our universe in any possible definition of the world is already happening on the Internet.
The metaverse can be any of a number of ways of structuring this as we deepen our ties with the digital world. And this is way too important for us to leave in the hands of any single person, entity, government, or corporation.
And that is why we must build it on-chain.
Ownership of our universe must belong to us
The blockchain must be the backbone of the metaverse. It’s the technology that makes sure everything runs smoothly and securely. Just like in the real world, the metaverse will have a lot of transactions and interactions happening all the time. The blockchain allows all of these transactions to be recorded and verified in a decentralized way, meaning there’s no one central authority controlling everything. This helps ensure that the metaverse is a fair and trustworthy place where people can interact with each other and exchange value. Plus, the blockchain is immutable, meaning that once a transaction is recorded, it can never be changed. This helps keep the metaverse a safe and secure place where everyone’s rights and assets are protected.
Let’s go through some of the key features of any functional metaverse:
Control over information: A proprietary metaverse controlled by a single company could censor information that goes against their interests or beliefs. For example, if the company has political views that align with one particular ideology, they could censor any content that goes against that ideology. This stifles free speech and creates a one-sided virtual world.
Limiting innovation: In a proprietary metaverse, only the company or organization in control would have the ability to authorize the creation and launch of new products and services. This limits the ability of others to come up with new and innovative ideas, and stifles the growth and development of the metaverse.
Unequal playing field: If only those who can afford to play by the rules set by the controlling company or organization can participate in the metaverse, then it creates an unequal playing field. For example, if the company charges a high fee to use certain virtual goods or services, then only those who can afford it will be able to participate in certain aspects of the metaverse. This excludes a large portion of the population from fully experiencing the metaverse.
Amusingly enough, this was predicted by the person who coined the term metaverse. Author Neal Stephenson first used the expression in his novel Snow Crash. Both that book and Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One are stark warnings about what will happen to both physical and virtual worlds if we don’t take an acute interest in who owns our digital lives.
They are dystopias. We can’t afford to build one.
There is no multiverse without a blockchain
Here are some key aspects where a blockchain-based metaverse can technologically ensure its own freedom and quality of life:
True ownership of what is ours: A proprietary metaverse controlled by a single company means for the metaverse what it means to us now. Everything you create, you build, you post, you spend time, imagination, and genius on is owned by corporations. Your texts, your art, your FIFA coins, your characters and avatars, even the pictures of your family and your pets. None of it is yours. The blockchain means true ownership. What you create belongs to you. Period.
Limitless possibilities: The blockchain, or at least the MultiversX blockchain, is programmable. The way we see the metaverse is multiple, diverse, and infinite. We don’t believe in one metaverse, but in many. However many you want. The multiverse should have a kaleidoscope of different universes, defined by you and interconnected. We don’t believe in a closed metaverse, and the blockchain is what will allow us to build it openly.
An economy to sustain it: Worlds need economies to function. If we build the metaverse’s economy based on what we have now, with banks and financial institutions dictating the rules, then we are instantly blocking one third of the world’s population from it. Everything we buy and sell digitally will be subject to their rules, their fees, and their arbitrary propositions. Crypto is Internet-native money and with it you can be your own bank.
On this universe and the next.
A proprietary metaverse controlled by a single company or organization is a great danger. Our digital lives are becoming more significant to us every day, and we cannot allow ourselves to forego control over them.
New worlds cannot be tied to the obsolete standards of the old one.
We can do better now, if we just build it. This is what drives us, motivates us, and has become our mission.
What we are building at Utrust is a necessary evolutionary step. As our digital lives become more mature and significant, so too must our dealings with the Internet. Our system was born on the Internet, not adapted to it.
If you own a business and you are ready to experience the speed, reliability, and security of crypto payments, here is where you can find everything you need.
If you don’t but you are ready to embrace true ownership of your financial future, the Superapp that will serve as your bridge is almost here.