The crypto community has been witnessing an increased interest in the metaverse, the virtual reality platform where humans can do almost everything they do in the real world. It’s definitely getting more exciting from here as dreams of living in virtual reality come true. Even tech evangelist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates have predicted that the metaverse will replace Zoom in work meetings in a few years.
Since digital reality became popular over the past two years, investors have been looking for the top metaverse projects in 2023 to pump money into, supporting them financially and operationally.
Aside from expecting impressive returns, metaverse offers a futuristic investment opportunity as there’s so much money to be made.
However, there are so many projects on the metaverse that deciding which one to invest in may take a lot of work. You can go through many crypto communities for the right option. To ease your hunting journey, we have come up with a list of the most happening metaverse projects to invest in.
However, there are so many projects on the metaverse that deciding which one to invest in may take a lot of work. You can go through many crypto communities for the right option. To ease your hunting journey, we have come up with a list of the most happening metaverse projects to invest in.
Table of Contents
What is Metaverse?
The Metaverse is a virtual world that allows users to experience various activities, including attending concerts, visiting art galleries, and traveling to different locations through customized avatars. Essentially, the Metaverse is a 3D world that offers numerous virtual spaces where users can interact, collaborate, and play games, representing a futuristic version of the internet.
Different companies are developing various versions of the Metaverse, each with its network protocols. Nevertheless, all these Metaverses have a similar goal: blur the lines between our digital and physical lives.
Speaking of the virtual world, cryptocurrencies play a vital role in the Metaverse, as they are used as money in all the projects that have been built so far. Every metaverse project has its own currency for a range of virtual products, including NFTs, virtual real estate, and avatar accessories.
Tech giants like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Tencent are pursuing Metaverse initiatives, each hoping to be a major shaping factor in this new digital universe. With the emergence of virtual marketplaces and the growth of Metaverse crypto through exchanges, this technology is gaining acceptance from consumers and investors, making it a rapidly developing industry with vast potential for the future.
Top Metaverse Projects in 2023
The new year ushered in a lot of investment talk, and the metaverse happened to be at the top of the list of worthy investments. There are countless metaverse projects, and deciding the best depends on various factors (will be discussed later). So, let’s look at some of the top metaverse projects in 2023.
Axie Infinity (AXS)
Axie Infinity is a popular play-to-earn metaverse game that has captivated the crypto community’s attention. Players collect and own monsters known as “Axies,” which are represented as NFTs and can be purchased and sold on the Axie Infinity marketplace.
Users can use their Axies to fight other players for the in-game currency of Smooth Love Potion (SLP). During the previous bull run, the game’s market cap peaked at $10 billion, making it the most valuable metaverse project in the crypto market to date.
The platform’s main utility token is Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), which has a market value of $972.88M. AXS holders can participate in DAO governance to shape the ecosystem’s future and enjoy staking benefits to earn passively. The token has established partnerships with Binance, HTC, Kyber Network, Samsung, and Ubisoft.
Created in 2018 by Sky Mavis, Axie Infinity’s play-to-earn concept has become popular due to recent trends in the cryptocurrency market. With the potential to generate income and its efforts to bring the play-to-earn concept to life, Axie Infinity is a promising metaverse project worth giving a shot.
RobotEra (TARO)
RobotEra is a new metaverse project that offers players numerous opportunities to earn a substantial income through various activities. The project provides users with a sandbox-like metaverse that allows them to explore and rebuild planet Taro as robots. Players can purchase and develop lands, mine resources, and create robot companions.
Separately, RobotEra features a central city where users can participate in quests and challenges to earn exciting crypto rewards. The platform integrates entertainment, virtual world creation, and management in its metaverse platform, ensuring users benefit from active gameplay and engagement.
Users can generate wealth in the metaverse platform, including staking tokens and NFTs, selling NFTs, brand advertising, etc. The native token of the RobotEra ecosystem is TARO, which players earn for active participation in the game. Holders of the TARO token can stake their tokens to earn a passive income within the RobotEra ecosystem. The project integrates NFTs into its gameplay by issuing user-generated digital assets, including robot companions and land tokens that players can own and fully operate in the metaverse. The platform also implements the project’s DAO governance, which allows TARO token holders to make effective decisions to improve the RobotEra ecosystem.
Currently, in its presale phase, RobotEra is expected to provide fantastic gains in the coming year. With its immersive features and various opportunities for income generation, RobotEra appears to be a promising metaverse project.
Decentraland (MANA)
Decentraland has emerged as the first fully decentralized virtual environment. It is often called a virtual cosmos that encompasses the whole metaverse. Its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) controls key smart contracts that power the Decentraland metaverse, most notably the LAND contract, allowing users to buy and sell virtual land on the network. Users can monetize their LAND by enabling advertising, interactive games, and other features. Decentraland’s native token, MANA, is the metaverse’s currency, which can be used to buy LAND, wearables, avatars, names, and other products in the Decentraland marketplace.
Decentraland takes inspiration from life-simulation video games like The Sims, and it has become one of the top metaverse projects in 2023. Users can visit themed districts and virtual events and participate in simulations during their leisure time. The platform has normalized the buying and selling of virtual lands, and MANA is currently sitting at a market capitalization of $1.09B.
The project has partnered with Binance, Blender, Samsung Electronics, and Under Armour, ensuring its continuous growth and development in the metaverse space. It provides an immersive experience, integrating gaming and blockchain technology, and with its growing popularity, it is a promising platform for virtual world enthusiasts and investors alike.
Bloktopia (BLOK)
Bloktopia is a unique metaverse project that allows users to study, socialize, conduct business, and engage in various activities within a 21-story skyscraper. The platform’s construction will initially be incomplete, requiring input and creativity from each user to shape the metaverse’s development. While limited information about the initiative is available at the moment, some intriguing glimpses, such as a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) room, have been shared to generate excitement around the project. Bloktopia aims to create new ways for users to create content and generate revenue while living in the metaverse.
The Bloktopia metaverse project features 21 levels, representing the supply of Bitcoins (21 million). Bloktopians, or BLOK holders, have access to various facilities within the platform, which aim to replicate real-world experiences. The project is partnered with companies such as Avalanche DuckDAO, KuCoin Labs, Polygon Network, CoinMarketCap, and Shima Capital. Its market cap is $44.11M, influenced by the current bearish trend in the market. Bloktopia’s vision is to shift the world’s focus from reality to a virtual world, offering a unique experience within its skyscraper-themed metaverse.
Chromia (CHR)
Chromia is a blockchain platform that leverages the strengths of both traditional relational databases and blockchain technology to create a highly scalable and efficient solution for decentralized application (dapp) development. The platform was developed by experts involved in pioneering efforts in colored coins and blockchain 2.0 and has received support from governments and large enterprises.
Chromia offers faster delivery times than traditional relational databases and blockchains and has been utilized in various applications, including gaming, DeFi protocols, and enterprise solutions. Chromia employs a subset validator node model to address scalability issues, making it highly efficient. Individual dapps are hosted on a subset of validator nodes, enabling consensus to be established on any changes to the dapp state and enabling the handling of client queries. The CHR token is Chromia’s native governance token and acts as a platform currency, used for staking and payment for hosting services, earning CHR tokens as a reward.
In addition to powering popular metaverse projects such as My Neighbor Alice and Mines of Dalarnia, Chromia has partnered with Revolve Games, Lingon, CapChap, and LAC PropertyChain. Despite its early origins, Chromia has remained relevant in the crypto community and has achieved a market capitalization of $107.99M.
MyNeighborAlice (ALICE)
My Neighbor Alice is a unique blockchain-based game designed by Antler Interactive, inspired by games like Animal Crossing and Minecraft. The game is designed to make blockchain features accessible and enjoyable for players unfamiliar with NFTs. The game aims to teach millions of players about blockchain through pleasant stories and appealing monetization options. Multiple users can create virtual worlds, connect with their neighbors, participate in fun daily activities, and earn rewards.
To become a part of the My Neighbor Alice world, one must purchase land and engage in activities like gathering insects, fishing, farming, and beekeeping. Players’ status in the game is upgraded through activities, shared missions, and competitions.
In-game NFTs of buildings, plants, trees, flowers, and animals can be used to design and decorate players’ territories. Players may also use novel in-game tools like a Game Builder and an NFT creator to customize their game experience and play around with the landscape. An in-game marketplace lets players buy and sell different game items and NFTs, personalize their game characters using avatars, and meet each other in an on-chain forum. A progressive reputation system in the game encourages players to improve their status to access exclusive events and NFTs. While the market cap of My Neighbor Alice was $870 million in 2021, the current market capitalization of the game is $72 million.
RedFox (RFOX)
Redfox (RFOX) is a metaverse ecosystem that aims to offer opportunities for individuals to play, develop and earn through virtual environments that benefit everyone. It seeks to address the challenges that businesses face in getting more customers into the digital economy by providing accessible technology solutions that benefit almost everyone.
The RFOX platform provides access to banking, gaming, virtual reality (VR), NFTs, and retailing tools, allowing businesses and creators to enter the digital market with minimal effort. The RFOX token is an ERC-20 utility token that supports the entire ecosystem by covering trading fees, liquidity pools, transactions, and NFT formation.
The RFOX ecosystem has multiple ventures, such as RFOX Vault, RFOX Games, and RFOX Media. RFOX Vault is a virtual reality shopping, retail, and recreational experience that combines numerous gaming aspects. RFOX Games is a tournament-based game system focusing on the play-to-earn (P2E) business model.
At the same time, RFOX Media aims to be an online media leader that creates solutions and networks that allow users to receive incentives for creating content, winning games, and contributing to the community. Redfox employs blockchain technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual reality (VR) to enhance organizational performance.
Redfox aims to handle multiple payment settlements across multiple chains owing to its single log-in system, additional payment provider, and wallet connections. The RFOX token is accessible on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and WAX, with more chain integrations planned in the near future. As a service-based metaverse project, RFOX offers users endless possibilities. The platform seeks to become the world’s leading provider of interactive technology for retail, enjoyment, incentives, and community engagement.
The Sandbox (SAND)
The Sandbox is a blockchain-based virtual world allowing players to create and monetize their unique gaming experiences using its native cryptocurrency, SAND. Like Decentraland, this metaverse prioritizes content creation and gaming and takes inspiration from Minecraft and Roblox using a 3D voxel approach. With over 70 million worlds and environments created by users, the Sandbox has a vibrant market of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which can be bought, sold, and traded. The metaverse allows its community to build games, assets, and applications on its land parcels. Each LAND is a unique NFT on the public Ethereum blockchain (ERC-721), allowing users to explore and create in this immersive environment.
Since its launch in 2012, the Sandbox has expanded its reach and capabilities through partnerships with companies like Adidas, The Walking Dead, and Snoop Dogg. The Sandbox’s parent company, Animoca Brands, acquired the platform in 2019 and incorporated it into their blockchain-based metaverse. By the end of Q1 2021, the project was valued at $500 million, and SAND currently has a market cap of $3.3 billion. With its growing community, unique gaming and content creation approach, and blockchain-based infrastructure, the Sandbox offers exciting possibilities for those interested in exploring and creating in the metaverse.
Star Atlas (ATLAS)
Star Atlas is a top metaverse project that focuses on a game set in the future, specifically in the year 2620, where players can acquire resources and conquer land in a futuristic setting. The game has two Solana-blockchain-based coins: ATLAS and POLIS. ATLAS operates as an in-game currency that allows players to battle, explore new realms, and access the marketplace. Since most assets in the game are NFTs, ATLAS is an essential currency. POLIS allows users to engage in political intrigue and vote on game decisions, even outvoting developers.
Star Atlas is built on the Solana blockchain, which gives it a significant advantage over Ethereum-based ventures in terms of transaction fees. The metaverse project aims to develop a space-themed universe, and ATLAS presents itself as a strategic game of space exploration and territorial conquest. The digital assets in Star Atlas are mainly tradable NFTs, and the project’s market capitalization is currently over $33.3M. It is a typical reward-based game where players earn coins on completing tasks, and these benefits have the potential to be profitable. Star Atlas is a promising metaverse project to follow in 2023.
Sushi Swap (SUSHI)
Sushi is a cryptocurrency that functions as the main currency of the SushiSwap decentralized exchange (DEX). It has a maximum token supply of 250 million, with 242 million currently circulating. SushiSwap allows users to exchange between various virtual currencies using a connected cryptocurrency wallet such as MetaMask and supports swapping between 11,700 currency pairs. Despite being the 142nd-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization according to CoinMarketCap, it has experienced volatile price fluctuations, with a peak of over $20 per coin and current values dropping to under $1.05 each.
Initially launched as a token swap under Uniswap in 2020, SushiSwap has expanded its reach to include lending and farming in the metaverse and decentralized finance (DeFi) sectors. At the start of 2021, Sushi had a total market cap of $593 million, which has since decreased to $232.76 million due to recent market trends.
Despite the fall, Sushi remains a well-supported token that operates across multiple blockchain networks, providing endless opportunities for crypto traders to conduct transactions directly with each other without intermediaries. However, investors should consider the risks of investing in a volatile market and consider the implications of a decentralized platform that is not regulated.
Factors to Consider Before Investing in the Virtual World
1. Understanding the Nature of the Metaverse
Investing in the metaverse can be a lucrative opportunity, but it’s crucial to consider several factors before making a decision. Firstly, it’s important to recognize that the metaverse is a virtual world, meaning it’s entirely digital and operates independently of the physical world. It means that investing in the metaverse comes with inherent risks, and there is a need to be cautious before committing funds.
2. Risks Involved in Investing in the Metaverse
It’s essential to remember that the market for the metaverse is subject to fluctuations, which means that investing in it carries a degree of risk. Researching the market and assessing the risks involved in investing in the metaverse is necessary
3. The Regulatory Landscape and Potential Risks
While the metaverse mimics real-world situations, it operates outside the traditional regulatory framework. This can be a significant disadvantage because users can engage in illicit activities without any consequences, leading to potential scams and other fraudulent activities. Despite the potential downsides, the metaverse presents a world of opportunity, but it’s important to weigh the risks and benefits before investing. It’s also worthwhile because the digital world is entirely controlled by technology, which may not be desirable for some investors.
Wrapping up
As the metaverse continues to gain traction and attract more attention, early adopters can benefit from unique opportunities to be part of a groundbreaking movement in the crypto world. Investing in these projects now can position you for long-term success, as the value of these digital assets is expected to rise.
However, plenty of metaverse projects in 2023 may be hard to choose from. This blog highlights the top ten projects according to market cap. At Blockwiz, we are committed to providing accurate information on cryptocurrency and the metaverse. Contact us if you are still confused about what metaverse project to choose.
