As crypto winter continues to throw ice on the fire of formerly red-hot crypto markets, it's easy to start to wonder exactly what the future holds for non-fungible tokens like virtual real estate. Sales activity is way down right now, and it seems like many owners are in a buy-and-hold mode.
However, this wait-and-hold attitude blanketed the markets in a thick layer of snow has also produced a great deal of opportunity for anyone who has a long-term vision for metaverse real estate. Two new reports are out that address the growth of the metaverse over time, and both agree: It's going to be a long, hot summer for the investors who get in during the bear market.
Forecasting long-term growth potential across the board
McKinsey & Company had some pretty exciting findings for future metaverse landowners in places like Decentraland (MANA -0.27%). For example, of those surveyed, 57% of metaverse-aware companies say they've become early adopters. Customers are into this space, too, with 59% saying that they were excited about transitioning their everyday activities to the metaverse.
For virtual real estate holders, that means more companies are looking for space, be it billboard, storefront, or something a bit more interesting, because they're coming and so are users who are looking for new ways to interact with their favorite brands, both large and small. It already is and will continue to be a great opportunity for metaverse landlords and developers to put their property to work and bringing in a steady income stream, especially in Decentraland, where users are already coming and going on the daily.
McKinsey's forecast includes a prediction that the metaverse could reach a $5 trillion valuation by 2030. It noted that, as of the publication of the report in June, investment in the metaverse this year had already doubled what it was in 2021, despite massive land sales that set all kinds of records last fall and winter.
Metaverse as a percentage of the global economy
DBS Bank Limited, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, also issued a fairly impressive and optimistic report at about the same time as McKinsey. Among the many findings it published was a prediction that the metaverse market will be worth between $3 trillion and $11 trillion by 2030.
DBS goes on to explain that it anticipates that the metaverse will actually make up 10% to 40% of the digital economy and 3% to 10% of the total global economy, or somewhere between the GDP of the UK (on the low end) to the combined GDP of the UK, Italy, Spain, and Germany (on the high end).
"Buy low" has never been so full of potential
Even though metaverse real estate has taken a beating along with the rest of the crypto world, it's far from out of play. In fact, now is the time to get in, if you can get a virtual lot at all. Many worried virtual landholders are holding fast to their investments, but there is still virtual real estate to be had if you watch carefully for it.
Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Bored Ape Yacht Club's Otherside each has plenty of virtual lots that are poised to be in the right place at the right time as crypto winter recedes. You can buy any of these through an exchange like OpenSea, where you can examine lots head to head, or through the marketplaces for the platform of your choice.
Remember when buying metaverse real estate, the goal is to do something with it to add value and utility, thus increasing the chances of renting the lot to someone at a profit, and therefore increasing the value of the world you've bought into by investing in the community.
