METAVERSE BLOG

The Metaverse - Past, Present, and Future

The Metaverse Series - Article 12

janni Metaverse 16 minutes

A Reliable Metaverse Economy – Beyond Land, NFTs, and Hype

As the vision of the Metaverse begins to solidify into a functioning digital reality, one of the most critical components to its sustainability and legitimacy will be the creation of a trustworthy, robust economy. Past attempts at monetization within virtual worlds have often relied heavily on speculative practices such as virtual land sales, volatile NFTs, or micro-commerce in cosmetic goods, many of which have led to disappointment, user mistrust, and ultimately, stagnation.

 

The Promise and Pitfalls of Early Metaverse Commerce

The early years of Metaverse monetization were defined by hype. Virtual land speculation ballooned out of proportion, NFTs promised value but often delivered scams, and the market became saturated with microtransactions for purely aesthetic items. While these generated headlines and brief spikes of interest, they failed to establish long-term, credible economic ecosystems.

For the Metaverse economy to thrive, it must move beyond these unstable foundations and toward meaningful value exchange.

 

Real Commerce in a Virtual World

The goal is not to replicate the physical economy in a 3D format, but to create new models of commerce that are native to the Metaverse as well as make sense within it. This includes:

Crucially, these exchanges should be backed by a stable currency model, whether through traditional payment methods or carefully regulated crypto, and reinforced by secure transaction mechanisms.

Real commerce turns worlds from “places to hang out” into places to work, learn, and build. When people can earn, hire, rent, insure, and invest inside the space where value is created, incentives align: creators keep improving venues and tools, hosts moderate better, and members show up reliably because time translates into income or outcomes. Commerce anchors identity and reputation. Clients review teachers, studios vouch for contractors, and credentials travel across worlds,reducing spam and low-effort churn. It also unlocks sustainability: instead of ad-driven engagement, communities fund themselves through tickets, subscriptions, and royalties that reward the folks delivering value.

For organizations, in-world payments collapse friction: discovery, trial, purchase, and onboarding happen in one continuous interaction, with receipts, VAT, and access control applied immediately to the right avatars. Finally, real commerce creates legitimacy and portability. If a DJ, tutor, or museum can be paid anywhere and bring their assets, reviews, and certifications along, network lock-in fades and healthy competition drives better experiences. In short, commerce isn’t a bolt-on shop; it’s the operating system for trust, accountability, and growth, making the Metaverse a viable economy rather than just another social feed.

 

Slow Growth, Steady Shift

It’s unrealistic to expect that the Metaverse will suddenly replace existing online commerce. Instead, we must anticipate a gradual, steady migration:

The Metaverse won’t replace online commerce overnight; it will absorb it, piece by piece. First, brands and creators add “try-before-you-buy” rooms alongside 2D storefronts, turning product pages into immersive showrooms. Next, static help centers evolve into interactive service environments where tutors, consultants, and support teams work in real time.

Creator economies expand from isolated channels to global virtual freelancing, with commissions, classes, and events delivered inside the spaces where value is created. Payments, receipts, and access rights travel with the user’s interoperable identity and wallet, so tickets unlock doors, subscriptions open studios, and payroll reaches in-world staff, securely and with auditability.

Adoption grows where the advantages are clear: better conversion through presence, lower churn via community, and faster onboarding through hands-on trials. The total volume of e-commerce may not spike, but its composition will: a steadily rising share shifts to experience-driven transactions as users spend more time in worlds that feel practical, social, and worth returning to.

The total volume of online commerce may not skyrocket overnight, but a growing share will slowly begin to favor immersive, experience-driven transactions as users spend more time in the Metaverse.

 

Security and Trust: The Cornerstones of a Digital Economy

No economic model can thrive without trust. That means platforms must guarantee:

Users and businesses alike must feel safe engaging in transactions, whether that’s a 5-euro avatar outfit or a 5,000-euro training simulation.

Good news: the pieces already exist. What’s needed is tight integration inside the Metaverse. Payments should ride on battle-tested rails (cards, SEPA, instant transfers, compliant stablecoins) via providers that bring PCI, PSD2/strong customer authentication, fraud scoring, and chargeback handling. Identity and access rely on verifiable credentials (age, business status, VAT ID, KYC result) presented from a user-controlled wallet; platforms verify signatures, check revocation, and log consent. For safety at scale, combine escrow for commissions, dispute workflows (evidence capture, timelines, mediation/arbitration), and audit trails that anchor receipts, ownership changes, and license terms to the transaction. Tax engines compute VAT/GST and issue invoices automatically; ownership registries (on- or off-chain) prevent double-selling and support resale with royalties. All of this should be invisible to the user: one tap to pay, instant access, clear refund rules.

Cross-border reality adds complexity: two avatars standing together may be subject to different laws. The fix is jurisdiction-aware commerce. Each transaction evaluates policy from both sides; buyer location, seller domicile, product type (e.g., training, ticket, digital asset), and age/export rules. The marketplace applies the stricter applicable standard (KYC level, age gate, refund window), blocks prohibited trades, and calculates the correct taxes (e.g., EU place-of-consumption). Data handling respects local privacy law (e.g., GDPR) with minimization and purpose-bound logs. Users see plain-language terms (“who protects me, which law applies, how to complain”) before purchase. In short: integrate proven rails, add verifiable identity, and enforce jurisdictional policy per transaction, so trust is designed in, not bolted on.

 

Rethinking Business Models

Simply porting existing e-commerce models into a virtual space is unlikely to succeed. The Metaverse demands new ideas:

In short, the Metaverse economy must be designed from the ground up to match the context and expectations of the new medium.

 

Conclusion: A Sustainable Economic Future

To create a thriving Metaverse, we must establish a credible, human-centric economy built on real value exchange. It will grow slowly, shaped by user needs, evolving technology, and creative business models. But if designed correctly, with transparency, inclusivity, and utility at its core, it may ultimately become one of the most important economies of the digital age.

Because in the end, people don’t just want to explore a world, they want to live, work, and prosper in it.

 

Join the Conversation

If this article sparked your curiosity or passion for the future of the Metaverse, I warmly invite you to join an open discussion in a virtual world setting. Let’s meet face-to-face (or avatar-to-avatar) to exchange ideas, share visions, and connect with others who believe in building something better. The next live meetup will take place on the 30th of January at 9 p.m. (UTC+2) in our Metaverse Meeting Point. Whether you’re a developer, creator, thinker, or explorer, your perspective matters. Come help shape the next chapter of the Metaverse!

About the Author

Dieter E. Heyne is a Metaverse pioneer and lifelong technologist, born in Munich in 1966. With a master’s degree in applied computer science and over three decades of experience as an IT entrepreneur, software architect, and consultant, he has always been at the frontier of digital innovation. His journey into virtual worlds began in 2007 with Second Life and sparked a deep, ongoing exploration of the Metaverse as a space for education, collaboration, and immersive experiences.

Since 2012, Dieter has been developing and refining a web-based virtual world platform, driven by a vision to make the Metaverse accessible, meaningful, and transformative. As a frequent speaker and thought leader at Metaverse events, he shares his insights on how virtual environments can reshape human interaction, learning, and culture. He is the founder and CEO of Metaverse School GmbH, a company dedicated to promoting Metaverse literacy and helping people and organizations understand the power and promise of these emerging digital realms.

 

About Metaverse School GmbH

Metaverse School GmbH was founded in 2017 by Dieter E. Heyne, who continues to lead the company as its CEO. The company emerged from decades of consulting experience in software architecture, project management, quality assurance, information security, and data protection. Building on this strong technological foundation, Metaverse School GmbH is dedicated to promoting the responsible and purposeful use of immersive 3D environments—for education, collaboration, training, and simulation.

A core mission of the company is to raise awareness of the Metaverse’s potential across business, education, and society. In support of this goal, Dieter Heyne regularly speaks at national and international conferences as well as Metaverse-focused events. Through real-world examples and deep expertise, he demonstrates how immersive technologies can already create meaningful value today.

 

Disclaimer
Some portions of this content were created or refined with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) using tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The ideas, structure, and editorial direction remain the responsibility of the author. While every effort has been made to ensure factual accuracy and original expression, readers are encouraged to approach speculative or future-facing statements with critical thought.

This series does not represent the views of any specific company or platform and is intended to inspire open discussion around the evolving concept of the Metaverse. 

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