• Neal Stephenson, the creator of the term “metaverse”, believes that building experiences worth having in virtual worlds is difficult and therefore mainstream adoption of this tech may be far away.
• Stephenson also believes that blockchain and metaverse have a natural relationship, enabling interconnection between various worlds as part of a bigger world.
• He co-founded Lamina1 to lay a foundational layer for the creation of digital worlds that are compatible with what blockchains are capable of.
Neal Stephenson on Metaverse Adoption
Neal Stephenson, who coined the term „metaverse“ in his novel Snow Crash published in 1992, believes that building experiences that millions of people consider worth having in virtual worlds is quite difficult, hampering the adoption process of the tech. As part of an interview offered to the Financial Times, Stephenson stated: “There won’t be a metaverse that is used by millions of people until it contains experiences that millions of people find worth having, and making those experiences is quite difficult.“
Relationship Between Blockchain and Metaverse
Stephenson has established a clear relationship between the metaverse and gaming technology and explains that „the games industry is the economic engine and the technological engine that obviously is going to be the foundation of any future metaverse,“ citing Doom as one example. He also explained further how blockchain can interconnect virtual worlds: „I think that to build a metaverse, we’re going to have a situation where people are moving freely from one environment to another… all of this smacks of a decentralized kind of network of interactions and financial transactions that puts me in mind of blockchain.“
The Creation Of Lamina1
In order to create these digital worlds compatible with blockchains, Stephenson co-founded Lamina1 –a blockchain metaverse company– which he sees as laying down a foundational layer for them.
Blockchain Interconnecting Virtual Worlds
Stephenson believes blockchain will play an integral role in connecting different virtual worlds together into one bigger world. He explains how internal design can be done in a centralized way but movement between these digital realms can only be accomplished using blockchain-based tools.
Conclusion
In conclusion, although mainstream adoption may still be far away due to difficulty creating worthwhile experiences within these virtual spaces, Neal Stephenson has made clear his vision for how blockchains will be essential for interconnecting different virtual realms together into one larger world.