But we are years away from the metaverse emerging as a single immersive space online where people can live, work and play in virtual reality. So is the land grab one big gamble.
People often talk about "the metaverse" as if there was only one.
But until one platform starts to dominate, or these disparate worlds join together, companies are selling land and experiences in their own versions.
Researchers at metaverse analysts DappRadar say that $1.93billion worth of cryptocurrency has been spent buying virtual land in the past year alone, with $22million of that spent on about 3,000 parcels of land in Voxels.
DappRadar can monitor this because Voxels is built on the Ethereum cryptocurrency system, in which, like all virtual currencies, every transaction is logged and published on a public blockchain.
One of the most popular worlds is the cartoony Decentraland. Launched in 2020, parcels of land there are selling for thousands, sometimes millions of dollars. Samsung, UPS and Sotheby's are among those who have bought land and built shops and visitor centres there.
However, with the general collapse in the value of cryptocurrencies, Dapp Radar says metaverse real estate values are near a one-year low.
(source:BBC)
