What is Blockchain Technology?

Simply put, blockchain is a distributed database in which all transactions (decentralized public ledger) recorded are stored in blocks and are shared among participating parties to verify each transaction.

It’s an immutable ledge as once a record is added in the database, it cannot be changed or deleted. Additionally, each record added in the distributed ledge is verified through consensus mechanism by members in the system.

Because all records are organised in such a way that they form a continuous sequence of blocks like a chain, the term blockchain. Furthermore, because it is a decentralised database, blockchain technology is neither owned or administered by anybody other than the members of their community.

Blockchain systems are of three types:

• Public Blockchain – all transaction records are public and all miners can be part of consensus mechanism.
• Private Blockchain – nodes/miners from a particular organization would be part of the consensus mechanism; also known as centralized network as it is owned by an organization.
• Consortium Blockchain – only pre-selected nodes/miners would be part of the consensus mechanism.

Blockchain can be thought of as an operating system, similar to Windows or MacOS, on which different applications such as various types of cryptocurrencies, can operate. E.g Bitcoin – a first use case of blockchain, it is built on the foundation of the blockchain.

How each transaction recorded in the blockchain is validated through consensus is a topic for another article, however there are two mechanisms by which they are checked by the nodes/miners. Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS).

Because blockchain is a decentralised network with no one owning the technology, someone should be selected for validating and recording each transaction.

The miner who first proves that the transaction is genuine (via a series of computations to arrive at a hash value) or the miner who wins the chance to perform the calculations is the basis of difference in the two verification systems.

In both the consensus mechanism, the miners are rewarded for their hard work.

What is NFT?

Non-fungible tokens, NFTs, are basically data stored in blockchains each with unique addresses. Unlike cryptocurrencies, NFTs are not interchangeable with other NFTs. Thus each NFT is unique and powerful.

Virtual contents such as photos, Gifs, artworks, videos, songs, or even a digital link to a physical/tangible asset can become NFTs. It is like a virtual title deeds as a proof of authorship.

Furthermore, because an NFT is non-interchangeable, it allows individuals to verify the legitimacy of digital commodities.

When you make an NFT, you’re making a file on the blockchain with a unique address that can’t be changed, duplicated, or destroyed.

Every time the ownership of an NFT is transferred, it is be recoded on the blockchain. Thus, two NFTs with the same digital content may be valued differently due to differences in ownership history.

To distinguish them from cryptocurrencies, NFTs are frequently referred to as “digital collectibles,” particularly in countries where cryptocurrencies are prohibited.

The gaming industry was an early user of NFTs and ride the wave, selling virtual goods inside the game (in-game) environment. A player can purchase in-game virtual items.

Ethereum blockchain platform is the most popular platform supporting NFTs.

What is Metaverse?

Metaverse is essentially a virtual extension of the real world, in which individuals are represented as avatars who can interact with other avatars and objects (watch movies, go shopping, ride bikes, buy real estates, and so on) much like in the real world.

According to Cathy Hackl — foremost futurist and metaverse expert, “there is really no agreed-upon definition right now but it’s a convergence of our physical and digital lives”.

Technically its a virtual world supported by virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The Metaverse will drive real-world activities into the virtual world, allowing businesses to extend their brand presence into the virtual world and interact with customers as realistically as possible, just as they would in their showroom or elsewhere.

As a matter of fact, top brands are already collaborating with gaming companies and platforms to penetrate the metaverse. Furthermore, they are actively investing in the development of virtual reality and augmented reality driven metaverse platforms.

Amazon recently launched a metaverse (virtual 3D world) like game called – AWS Cloud Quest: Cloud Practitioner to give cloud training and the video is receiving a lot of attention.

As a metaverse development company, we encourage you to come and offer yourself a metavese experience where you may acquire metaverse virtual land, visit shopping malls, purchase products and wearables for your avatars, and even participate in virtual fashion week.

Holding metaverse events are also on the list where visitors and exhibitors can purchase hall tickets and stalls using metaverse currencies respectively.

At the time of writing, metaverse pioneers are arranging the world’s first 24-hour metaverse festival on June 28, 2022.

Our blockchain and metaverse experts will be attending. See you in the Meta Festival. 😛

The technology making metaverse possible are:

• Extended Reality (XR)
• Blockchain, and
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Blockchain technology makes your existence in the virtual world secure and gives more control over your metaverse experience. Non-Fungible Tokens, NFTs, already grabbing headlines for record sales of digital assets and collectibles, are being sold in the metaverse are powered by blockchain.

There are several real-world examples of metaverse applications in operation, such as the US military using VR to educate new recruits to service helicopters and vehicles, cutting the training time from 18 weeks to just 10 weeks. Each recruit has their own method of studying the system from the inside out using the virtual reality (VR).

Industry experts and pundits are guessing how metaverse will change marketing. What do you have to say? We would love to hear your thoughts below.