When new technologies and platforms are created, there are incredible discovery phases in which economic activity eventually picks up and starts takin
When new technologies and platforms are created, there are incredible discovery phases in which economic activity eventually picks up and starts taking shape. The metaverse is arguably in that discovery phase, with many entrepreneurs finding ways to earn passive income on it.
As economic activity in the metaverse rises, new passive income opportunities are seemingly being created on a regular basis, as are opportunities to actively earn income. While what works and what doesn’t is still up for debate, there are some in the vanguard of metaverse passive income.
What is the metaverse?
Before digging into passive income opportunities in the metaverse, it’s first important to analyze what is actually is. The term “metaverse” has been one of the most popular buzzwords in the Web3 space over the last few months, while millions are moved in digital economies focusing on it.
The word “metaverse” comes from Neal Stephenson’s 1992 cyberpunk sci-fi novel Snow Crash. In the Web3 space, the term is used to describe a digital world where people actually own the assets within it.
The metaverse differs from past digital worlds, like those created in video games, through the use of nonfungible tokens (NFTs). These unique blockchain-based tokens can be freely traded by users but cannot be duplicated or copied. What can be done in the metaverse is still being explored, but so far, real businesses have been created within these metaverses.
Another defining characteristic of the metaverse is interoperability. Virtual worlds like that of popular videogame Roblox could be thought of as metaverses, but unlike the new, blockchain-based iterations, players don’t exercise control or ownership over their assets.
Various companies have been moving into the metaverse, with Walmart seemingly gearing up to enter the space, while fashion brands like Ralph Lauren and Gucci have signaled that virtual clothes could be a major growth area for them. Companies are entering the space as it grows rapidly and is expected to become an $800 billion industry within two years.
Given the potential size, earning passive income in the space could be a great opportunity. Taking advantage of passive income opportunities can be easy for those already deep into the metaverse, but how long each opportunity will allow entrepreneurs to earn isn’t clear.
Renting out metaverse land
One of the most well-known ways of earning passive income in the metaverse is by owning property in it and renting it out. Metaverse platforms like Decentraland and The Sandbox let users rent land for a fee to others.
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There currently isn’t a lot of data on what type of earnings metaverse landlords can expect, as that information isn’t being widely shared. Nevertheless, it’s known to be an attractive market as companies look to host events on the metaverse.
Pavel Sinelnikov, co-founder and CEO of Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Metis DAO, told Cointelegraph that metaverses aim to achieve “digital land ownership and the ability to buy, sell, and rent land and other virtual items,” adding:
“Metaverses create an abstraction of real-life, where there is a living virtual economy in the game that is not locked and restricted to the digital domain, but instead extends outside of it; these are real and valued assets, holding value outside of the digital realm.”
According to Sinelnikov, the economies seen within metaverses like Decenraland and The Sandbox impact the “greater and real-world DeFi [decentralized finance] ecosystem,” while allowing for more interoperability opportunities.
Leasing assets
Another way to earn passive income in the metaverse involves leasing out assets, as some users may not want to directly purchase expensive NFTs.
One well-known example of NFTs being leased to other users to earn passive income comes from the popular game Axie Infinity. The game is based on NFTs called on Axies that were, at one point, rather expensive as the game’s popularity exploded during the bull market.
In the game, Axies were needed to compete and earn rewards in the form of Smooth Love Potion (SLP) tokens. Players who could not afford Axies would receive them from so-called team managers in exchange for some of the SLP tokens they managed to earn. The managers were, in essence, earning passive income from their Axies as other players — called scholars — used them to earn rewards. The practice was so popular that some “scholars” in Venezuela were making a living off of leased Axies.
Other metaverse assets can be leased, depending on the platform. Sinelnikov commented that lending, renting and asset fractionalization are interactions that have already been formed on the metaverse, with the best part about them being that “no single provider can restrict the usage or control the market, since the assets belong to you and not to an individual provider.”
Secondary market…
cointelegraph.com