According to a story published Tuesday by the Financial Times, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is aiming to bring virtual currency to its apps. According to the story, this virtual currency has been called “Zuck Bucks” by employees.
According to reports, the currency will not be a blockchain-based cryptocurrency. According to the Financial Times, Zuck Bucks are more likely to function as simple in-app tokens, akin to Roblox’s Robux or Fortnite’s V-Bucks. This new endeavor
According to a Meta spokeswoman, the company is always considering new items. “As a company, we are focused on building for the metaverse and that includes what payments and financial services might look like.”
Meta’s virtual currencies are said to come in a variety of flavors, including tokens given out as rewards for participation in Facebook groups and coins for Instagram producers. According to the Financial Times, the company is looking at traditional financial services, such as offering loans to small businesses, in addition to virtual currencies. This search for additional revenue streams will not be limited to virtual currencies: Last month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that NFTs will be coming to Instagram.
As Facebook and Instagram face greater competition from other social media platforms, such as TikTok, Meta’s efforts to enter financial products and services are timely.
The concept of the metaverse is a mushy one. It’s generally described as an online environment where individuals may socialize, work, and play as avatars, and it’s a progression of the internet. Those places are shared and always available; unlike a Zoom call, they don’t vanish once you’ve finished using them. Many individuals believe the metaverse already exists in the digital worlds of Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite, which allow players to interact in 2D surroundings. The original metaverse is Second Life, a nearly two-decade-old social and gaming platform.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and other supporters envision a more immersive experience that combines a variety of existing technology, including virtual reality headsets, mobile devices, personal PCs, and cloud-connected servers. These futurists envisage the creation of a 3D virtual environment that may be accessed through the use of a headset or augmented reality glasses.
There’s no consensus on whether you’ll need VR or AR to access the metaverse, but they do go hand in hand. That means these headsets will work with whatever is available. Meta, Sony, Apple, and maybe more are anticipated to release new VR and mixed reality headsets this year.