The merging of blockchain technology with the metaverse is one of the biggest changes we’ve witnessed in the digital age. Blockchain used to be utilized only by small groups for speculative finance, but it has quickly become the most important part of decentralized, user-driven virtual worlds. A lot of blockchain is being used in the metaverse right now. There are many three-dimensional sites that are linked to each other. Blockchain makes it easy to move money around, shows who owns it, and keeps it safe. This essay will talk about five key ways that blockchain technology is changing the metaverse. We’ll also talk about what this means for both manufacturers and users, and we’ll answer some common questions to help you get started in this exciting new place.
Blockchain does a lot more than only make tokens in the metaverse. It protects digital property rights, allows decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to run communities, and makes economies fully interoperable so that assets and identities can move freely between platforms. These five amazing apps show that blockchain not only makes the metaverse better, but it also alters how we think about trust, innovation, and freedom in the digital economy.
1. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) let you own things in the digital world.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are one of the most obvious effects of blockchain in the metaverse. They are unique digital things that are stored on a blockchain. NFTs are different from other in-game items because they show that you own something and that it is hard to find.
Not being able to find it and not having a record of it. You may learn about the history of each NFT, including where it came from, who made it, and what transactions it has been a part of, by looking at its information. You can’t modify this history, which shows that something is true and can’t be copied. This is a big deal for virtual art, collectibles, and real estate. For instance, virtual land parcels in Decentraland, which is built on the Ethereum blockchain, sell for tens of thousands of dollars since it’s easy to see and prove who owns them.
Together. NFTs can move from one metaverse platform to another because they all follow the same standards, including ERC-721 and ERC-1155. If the platforms follow the same criteria, you can show off a piece of digital art from one realm in another. You can even utilize a virtual blade you bought in one game somewhere else.
The economy of creators. NFTs provide artists and developers more power since smart contracts incorporate royalty systems. When someone sells an NFT on a secondary market, the person who made it gets a small part of the sale. This helps people who manufacture things build economies that last a long time. OpenSea.
People can own their digital assets and give them to other people with NFTs. This shows that a metaverse can be built on ownership rather than renting or subscribing.
2. Growth that is led by the whole community, not just one person
Groups in charge of most online worlds make the rules, update them, and make money. Blockchain changes this idea by allowing community-run Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) to make decisions as a group through token-weighted voting.
Making decisions that are easy to understand. The chain keeps account of all proposals, votes, and results, which makes sure that governance is open and can’t be changed. People who own tokens in the Friends With Benefits DAO can vote on topics like events, partnerships, and changes to the Friends With Benefits platform.
You can win prizes for being a part of it. Giving governance tokens to developers, moderators, and content creators who work on metaverse projects could give them the right to vote and share in the profits. This alignment of incentives makes communities stronger and more involved.
Quick Iteration. DAOs can help projects move faster on community suggestions than regular development cycles. If a proposal obtains enough votes, it can start an automatic upgrading of a smart contract. This makes things easier and lets new ideas get started more quickly.
When governance parents are inside, people move from passive players to co-owners and co-Mars Glas for a short while. This makes people more responsible and helps create virtual worlds that are pleasant and last.
3. You can program economies with smart contracts.
Smart contracts are what make blockchain technology so novel and interesting. They are lines of code that automatically make deals when certain things happen. You can create up economies in the metaverse and do commerce without having to trust anybody else thanks to smart contracts.
Places where people can buy and sell things that don’t belong to just one person. Smart contracts make it easy for people to trade land, wearables, and in-game items with each other on sites like CryptoVoxels and The Sandbox. People can trade directly with each other, which saves time and money. The Sandbox.
Automatic payments of royalties and income splits. Smart contracts can automatically divide money into set quantities, making ensuring that developers, artists, and platform owners all get what they are owed.
Rentals and Escrow. You can rent virtual real estate with programmable escrow contracts. People that want to use the property for a short time pay a certain amount. The contract will refund the money back if certain conditions are met, such the lease expiring. You can have fun with this new technology by going to virtual concerts, art shows that only last a short time, and other events.
Smart contracts make the metaverse more fair and adaptable by letting economic models alter to meet the needs of both buyers and sellers.
4. Identity and reputation systems that work on more than one platform
Your avatar, your accomplishments, and your reputation are all separate things in conventional games. You can have digital IDs that you can carry with you and that work in all blockchain-based metaverses.
Identity that is self-sovereign (SSI). People make digital wallets to protect their personal information. These wallets keep track of things like who owns NFTs, how to vote in DAOs, and reputation tokens that people earn without needing to use centralized databases.
Tokens of Reputation. Projects like Proof of Humanity and BrightID give people reputation tokens or attestations to show what they’ve done. “Attended 10 live events” and “Contributed artwork to community gallery” are two examples. These reputation credentials stay with the user and let them access premium experiences and trust new locations.
You have the right to keep things private and the right to share. People can use zero-knowledge proofs to prove something about themselves, like being over 18 or having a membership token, without giving away any personal information. In the metaverse, this is a good balance between privacy and openness.
Blockchain separates identification from platforms, which makes it easier for people to trust each other, work together, and keep their own data safe. These three aspects are really significant since they make it easy to use different platforms.
5. New ways to earn money and new ways to keep track of it
It’s hard to tell the difference between the real world and the virtual world because of DeFi and the metaverse. They also think about new ways to make money and new technologies that can aid with money.
Play to Earn (P2E). People who play games like Axie Infinity get tokens that they may sell for real money. This means that players can earn money while they play. You can trade, lend, or stake these tokens on decentralized exchanges like Axie Infinity.
Being a part of ownership. Tokenization lets people own a small part of valuable virtual items, like well-known virtual land. Several people hold parts of the same asset. They make money by renting it out and when the price goes up.
Getting loans that are backed by something and renting things out. People can use their NFTs as collateral to borrow money on sites like Arcade.xyz. Using DeFi-powered escrow systems, they may also rent out their assets, like rare items or land, to other people. This gives those who own things more ways to make money.
The metaverse is more than just a fun place to hang out now that you can make money there in different ways. They also support the digital economy by making it easier to shift money around and find new ways to make money.
Looking Ahead: Problems and Chances
It’s a big deal that blockchain and the metaverse can work together, however there are a few problems:
- Ability to grow. A lot of blockchains have problems with transactions that take a long time and gas charges that are too high. Polygon and Immutable X are two layer-2 solutions that are aiming to make things better. Solana’s PoH is a new way to reach consensus that also tries to fix these problems.
- The user’s experience. People still have trouble using it since they don’t know how to manage their enjoyment in their FG wallets, keep their enjoyment private keys safe, or get started. Custodial wallets and social rehabilitation plans should be straightforward to use.
- Rules. Because the rules about digital assets, securities, and taxes aren’t clear, we need harmonized guidelines to protect users without getting in the way of new ideas.
- Effect on the environment. A lot of people have said terrible things about how much energy is used, especially on chains that use proof of work. The switch to proof-of-stake and carbon-offset systems is making things better.
Even with these issues, the probable benefits are very big. People will have more flexibility and room to be creative in the metaverse. This claim makes great sense because blockchain is open, safe, and not controlled by one person. As these technologies get better, we may expect virtual experiences to become increasingly more exciting and fun.
Questions and Answers (FAQs)
Q1: What does the metaverse mean?
The metaverse is a shared virtual space that has both superior copies of the real world and virtual worlds that don’t change over time. People can talk to one other as avatars on many platforms, games, social media sites, and augmented reality overlays.
Q2: How do NFTs show that you own things in the digital world?
NFTs employ the blockchain’s unchangeable record to keep track of when each asset was created and sold. Users can examine the validity of transactions and where they come from because they are always being logged. This stops people from duplicating and doing other illegal acts.
Q3: Is it safe to use blockchain in metaverses?
Blockchain has strong encryption and records that can’t be changed, but security is also affected by things like checking smart contracts, managing wallets, and running the platform. To make things safer, good projects do thorough audits and follow best practices.
Q4: Is it possible to use the same avatar on more than one metaverse site?
People are still working on making things work together. Using the ERC-6551 token standard for universal avatars is one way to make it possible for people to have identities across different platforms. But developers will need to work together for the platform to be widely used.
Q5: What makes DAOs different from businesses?
People who own tokens can vote in DAOs, which makes it transparent how the community runs things. No one person in a DAO is in charge of making recommendations, voting on them, and putting them into action. They don’t accomplish these things by hand; instead, they use smart contracts to do them automatically.
Q6: What environmental problems does blockchain in the metaverse cause?
It takes a lot of energy to use proof of work blockchains. A lot of metaverse initiatives are switching to layer-2 or proof-of-stake networks that use less energy. Some people even buy carbon credits to make up for the pollution they cause.
Q7: What are some things I can do to start making things for the metaverse?
Pick a blockchain platform, like Ethereum or Polygon, and learn the rules for NFTs. You can use 3D modeling software like Blender to make things and then mint them on sites like Rarible or OpenSea. To get more people to notice you, join groups on Discord and Twitter.
Q8: What will happen to metaverses that use blockchain in the future?
Expect more interoperability, more complicated DeFi integrations, improved VR and AR, and rules that keep users secure. As technology gets better, virtual economies could get as big and complex as real-world markets.
Final Thoughts
Blockchain technology doesn’t just work in the metaverse; it is what makes it work. Blockchain is changing the way we create, use, and trade in virtual worlds by letting people own things digitally through NFTs and letting DAOs run things without a central authority. The metaverse grows because of blockchain. This is even more clear with programmable economies, cross-platform identities, and new financial instruments.
When developers, producers, and consumers start using these new technologies, they will also have to deal with issues like rules, size, and how well the technology works for users. But the road forward is clear: blockchain’s openness, safety, and lack of centralization will make it easier for people to be creative, work together, and do business online. By learning about and using these five new apps, people may make the metaverse more fun, welcoming, and easy to use.
References
- Ethereum Foundation. ERC-721 Standard. Ethereum Improvement Proposals. https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-721
- Decentraland. Decentraland Whitepaper. https://decentraland.org/whitepaper.pdf
- OpenSea. How OpenSea Works. https://opensea.io/blog/guides/how-opensea-works/
- Friends With Benefits DAO. Governance Handbook. https://friendswithbenefits.io/governance-handbook/
- The Sandbox. Economy and Tokens. https://sandbox.game/en/economy/
- Axie Infinity. Play-to-Earn Economy. https://axieinfinity.com/economy
- BrightID. Decentralized Identity Verification. https://brightid.org/
- Polygon Technology. Scaling Ethereum with Polygon. https://polygon.technology/
- Solana. Proof of History (PoH). https://solana.com/solana-whitepaper.pdf
- Harvard Business Review. “The Promise and Peril of Blockchain for the Metaverse.” June 2025. https://hbr.org/2025/06/the-promise-and-peril-of-blockchain-for-the-metaverse
