Currency in Virtual Reality
How might currency work in a virtual reality?
Of course, I’m just conjecturing here. As you surely have seen, the VR revolution is churning along nicely, but the concept of VR currency hasn’t been wholeheartedly explored just yet.
VR money (kind of like a #bitcoin) could be accumulated through trade of services, sale of objects, privileges, and properties, similar to how it is in the real world. The limits of what can be bought or sold will depend on what the architects of that world allow to be brought in. The want to make a presence, virtually, and communicate with the rest of the world (just as in social media platforms) will likely account for a lot of how money is spent & received initially in addition to general categories of information sharing and entertainment. For example, VR users that go to virtual events might spend virtual money to attend, those that speak/perform/etc receive virtual money, and those that moderate the event (kick obnoxious people out, control sound, scenery, lights, etc…) might receive virtual money. It will equate to real dollar amounts… It’s just a matter of when someone will create a stable and flexible enough universe to support its expansion.
The other night, Reggie Watts performed live (for the second time) in AltSpaceVR – a popular social VR platform. This is something I would be tempted to pay money for – an environment where Reggie Watts can interact with my presence; maybe not my exact body, but with my voice and digital body/head/arm/head/finger movements and personality. Ideally, I would pay for this event using money accumulated in the virtual world, but I’m assuming that the easiest initial move would be to ask people for real money in exchange for some sort of ticket/code.
I imagine that I could work as a part-time programming instructor, or language instructor in VR to earn virtual dollars. What could you do as a service to earn money in virtual reality?
[linkedinbadge URL=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-j-huberty-91943b78″ connections=”off” mode=”icon” liname=”Zachary J. Huberty”] is Lead Engineer at National Republican Congressional Committee
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