Web 3.0 startups discuss the building blocks of the Metaverse: Blockchain, crypto, DAOs, and more

The Metaverse concept was first mentioned in the 1992 science-fiction novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

In simple terms, the metaverse is an online, 3D universe that combines various virtual spaces. This 3D universe will allow users across the globe to meet, chat, work, and participate in games together.

Earlier this year, Facebook’s rebranding to Meta and its shift in focus towards becoming a Metaverse company renewed interest in the concept.

At YourStory’s launch event for The Metaverse Summit on December 18, 2021, a panel of experts in the Web 3.0 and blockchain space came together to discuss the key building blocks that go into building such a Metaverse.

Ganesh Swami, CEO, Covalent; Kaavya Prasad, Co-Founder & COO, Lumos Labs; Illia Polosukhin, Co-Founder, NEAR Protocol and Ashish Anand, CEO & Co-Founder, Bru Finance featured on the panel, and revealed insights into the future of shared, online worlds.

“Metaverse equals opportunity. And there's been some variant of the 2D and 3D online virtual space for decades. So it doesn't matter where in the world you are, you're not constrained by geography. This is why it’s exciting for seven billion people to work together and build a better future,” said Ganesh Swami, CEO, Covalent, whose startup provides a unified API (Application Programming Interface) that brings visibility to billions of blockchain data points.

Illia Polosukhin, Co-Founder, NEAR Protocol echoed Ganesh’s sentiments and said the Metaverse is not limited to 3D gaming experiences.

He added, “We look at blockchain as the fundamental technology that allows us to compose these experiences in one universal space. It’s like the experience of the virtual world in the movie Ready Player One, but is not controlled by any singular corporation.”

The panellists agreed that assets being locked by a fast, transparent, immutable blockchain, that is "uncrackable or unhackable," is a critical component to building the Metaverse.

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Crypto and DAOs in the Metaverse

On the role of crypto in the Metaverse, Kaavya Prasad, Co-Founder & COO, Lumos Labs, said,

“Crypto is a store of value that can be sent peer-to-peer without any intermediaries. So far, centralised entities have control over the store of value on their platforms, but with crypto, you can own this value yourself and do what you want to do with it. It gives power back to the people or users.”

The role of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in providing proof of ownership and transfer of assets in the Metaverse, as well as the governance of shared worlds through Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAO), was also highlighted by the panellists.

“In the Metaverse, there will be individual developers building its critical pillars. And it’s the DAOs that will make this possible. However, we require much better tools to manage the process,” said Ashish Anand, CEO & Co-Founder, Bru Finance, whose startup enables Decentralised Finance (DeFi) lending against real-world assets.

At the launch event, YourStory also shared details on some of its key initiatives under its new Blockchain Economy franchise, including Web 3.0 hackathons, startup/project cohorts, meetups, masterclasses, and more.

If you’d like to watch the session and/or register for one or more of the other key initiatives under YourStory’s new Blockchain Economy franchise, visit the website or use this form.