Welcome to a new era, one where, with a virtual reality helmet screwed on your head, you enter a space at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds.
This space, or should we say this universe, is that of the “metaverse”.
Consisting of the Greek prefix “meta” which enters into the construction of many scholarly terms within which it expresses change, indicates the
Trésor de la langue française
, the word has not yet appeared in dictionaries.
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Matthew Ball, CEO of venture capital firm Epyllion, defines it as
"a gigantic, interoperable network of virtual worlds displayed in real-time 3D, which can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an unlimited number of users, with a sense of individual presence and a continuity of data, such as identity, history, rights, objects, communications and payments”.
In other words, in this universe where human, social and commercial relations (where cybercurrencies circulate) are dematerialized but where the user feels physically present thanks to 3D immersion, human existence seems to have invented a new form of extension of being.
Before switching into this world, here are some lexical elements that could be useful to you.
• Blockchain
Literally qualifying a “chain of blocks”, the blockchain is a mode of recording data produced continuously, in the form of blocks linked to each other in the chronological order of their validation, indicates the Commission for the enrichment of the language. French.
This information storage and transmission technology is the bedrock of the metaverse in that it serves its mode of operation.
This virtual world does not belong to a company but to all its users, who can take control of their own data, the blockchain acts as a kind of public register of transactions.
This makes it possible to know (for anyone and at any time) their nature, the identity of people and to ensure their security.
• Gas fees
“Gasoline fees” are the transaction fees of a blockchain calculated for each new registration.
These commissions can be higher or lower depending on the number of users who want to modify this blockchain at a specific time.
If there is a large crowd, then a speculative bubble can burst.
For example, recall Les Echos,
“when the metaverse Otherside sold its plots on the ethereum blockchain, the enthusiasm was such that these famous commissions jumped to 200 dollars, blocking the entire system.”
• NFTs
“Non fungible tokens” or “Non fungible tokens”, NFTs are digital files available on the metaverse to which digital certificates of authenticity are attached.
It can be photographs, films, video games, etc.
The Larousse explains that a fungible good
“is consumed by use and that it can be replaced by things of the same nature, of the same quality and of the same quantity.”
Also, NFTs cannot be exchanged for a token of equal value, but for a cybercurrency.
For example, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sold the image of his first tweet posted on March 21, 2009, as NFT for a value (in fiat currency) of over $2.9 million. .
In
Journey to the Center of the Metaverse
(Kawa), Pierre Berendes explains that in the future this virtual world could integrate brands' digital assets as NFTs.
In other words,
“you will be able to walk into a metaverse clothing store, search for items and then have the physical products shipped to your home.”
• An airdrop
Not to be confused with an aerial operation, or the Apple-branded system for transferring a file from one device to another, "dropping," or "airdropping," is a business strategy.
Employed by cybercurrency companies (Bitcoin, Ether, EOS, etc.), it consists of distributing cybercurrency units for free in users' wallets in order to encourage the commitment of a greater number of people around their currency. exchange usable in the metaverse.