The Virtual Economy

Most importantly, virtual worlds will level the playing field. We’re living through unprecedented income inequality, with global wealth concentrated at the top. In the analog world, talent is equally distributed but opportunity is not. In virtual worlds, everyone will have equal access to opportunity: all a participant needs is Internet access. Vir... See more

Of course, not everyone has the financial foundation to become a “time millionaire” or to start earning their living in the metaverse. Digital economies are nascent and not yet robust enough to support billions of digital workers. These same trends are powering the creator economy, remote work, freelancing; they are broader than Axie and its counte... See more

These economies are not only just places where community members play, but also worlds in which they have financial upside, ownership over revenue generating businesses & valuable digital assets, and defined jobs & responsibilities.

Something similar is currently happening in the virtual world. Online scarcity is possible. Virtual land can be valuable if it provides exclusive access to a unique flow of economic opportunities — in the same way that a domain name can be valuable. As such, virtual land can indeed be scarce. But the fundamentals are tough to read, the number of ne... See more

These emergent digital economies are facilitating dramatic wealth accumulation for a small few and supplemental earnings for a great many. They are the new ladders and ledges being created to replace the elevators that have been destroyed. They are, however, only accessible to those with the relevant skills and education. Many will be left behind.

But in truth, the “rails” of the “virtual economy” today are much worse than those of the “real world.” They’re more expensive, cumbersome, and slow to change.