Neal Stephenson, a popular sci-fi author coined the phrase "metaverse" in his first acknowledged and breakthrough 1992 novel, Snow Crash. Now that concept is becoming a reality, and what'due south more than, you tin can invest in the metaverses. In Prepare Player One, The OASIS is another case of an advanced virtual reality. Numerous other sci-fi authors, such as Ian M Banks, accept created and used like concepts within their novels.

Dorsum in September, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was clearly interested in advancing the metaverse. In a recent earnings call, Facebook made it clear that they desire to unify communities, creators and eCommerce in the metaverse with Zuckerberg saying:

"Our overarching goal across all of these initiatives is to help bring the metaverse to life."

And just terminal calendar week Facebook rebranded to Meta and announced its plans to develop the "Metaverse."

How big could metaverses become?

Already there are numerous household names making serious coin in this infinite such as Roblox and Fortnite. These are complete virtual reality worlds where users be through avatars. Slightly less well-known examples of virtual realities include Decentraland, Upland and Sandbox, equally well every bit Victoria VR which is another platform that will launch soon.

From an investment perspective, nosotros can confidently say that this explosion in virtual reality and metaverses is comparable to the dot-com nail of the late 1990s. What we are witnessing at present is the side by side phase of the internet existence created, with metaverses potentially set to overtake and replace the web equally it currently exists.

Related: New industry, new rules: Building the Metaverse without bias

Already some of the companies in this space such as Fortnite could sustain growth until they are comfortably sitting aslope Facebook, Google, Amazon and other tech giants. Ballsy Games, the creators of Fortnite, recently raised $one billion with Sony pouring $200 million into that funding round. Facebook is putting a lot of resource and money behind a new workplace and proto-metaverse VR platform known equally Horizon.

Brands are too betting big on virtual reality. Some brands are already selling straight to avatars (D2A), or Gucci selling a virtual bag that costs more than than a real one. Nike sells virtual Hashemite kingdom of jordan'southward in Fortnite and Coca-Cola started selling virtual wearables in Decentraland.

Bloomberg has estimated that the size of the metaverse marketplace is worth $800 billion. Even though this is in its formative phase, savvy crypto investors can contribute to the growth of metaverses and trade in the tokens of high-growth startups.

Hence the bet that many smart investors are making, that this boom in virtual reality is going to accelerate further. That one twenty-four hours — potentially in the next five years — there's going to be a virtual reality platform that rivals the major social networks.

How can you invest in metaverses?

Cryptocurrencies are already a part of these virtual realities, with various platforms accepting crypto as a payment choice for virtual goods including VR-based real estate. Gamers within Decentraland and The Sandbox can create virtual businesses such equally casinos and theme parks, then monetize them.

When it comes to crypto investors benefiting from this trend, some of the hard work has already been washed. Matthew Ball, futurist and founder of Roundhill Investments, aslope Jacob Navok, CEO of Genvid Technologies, have recently registered this Metaverse ETF.

Related: The Metaverse: Will it be a decentralized oasis or a centralized tyranny?

Metaverse ETF is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that operates similar to a stock market, except for crypto-based investments in Metaverse companies. It'due south a drove of investments in a range of companies — known equally an index — giving investors admission to a broad segment of the metaverse market.

At present, the Metaverse ETF has a median market capitalization of $74 billion, with investments spread across 41 companies (holdings) in viii countries. This includes investments in infrastructure companies such as Cloudflare and Nvidia, gaming engines including Unity and Roblox, and pioneers of metaverse content from Tencent, Sea and Snap.

As this index is sold through the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), information technology but includes public companies, not individual ones. This means crypto and other investors demand to look elsewhere to become slightly closer to the action if you are looking to invest at an earlier stage.

For early on-phase investments, the best options are going to be in the crypto infinite. Gaming, hardware and content cosmos companies are going to be launching initial coin offering (ICO) and initial DEX offering (IDO) token sales, pregnant that investors tin can get on lath long before these companies go public.

Related: Sci-fi or blockchain reality? The 'Gear up Player One' OASIS tin can exist congenital

When we consider the total addressable size of this market — and include the cadre growth segments such equally creators, hardware, advertising and eCommerce — it could exist worth more than $1 trillion. When we as well consider how essential the net as it currently is to everyday life, that'south what the Metaverse could become in a lot less fourth dimension. As an investment opportunity, metaverse companies, especially ones at the ICO and IDO stage are unparalleled in their upward potential, provided that you pick wisely, of form.

Nosotros are witnessing and playing a role of something exciting. The net and the manner nosotros experience reality will never be the same once again with numerous upsides from the accelerated expansion of metaverses and virtual realities.

This article does non incorporate investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading motion involves gamble, and readers should conduct their own research when making a determination.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the writer's lonely and do not necessarily reflect or correspond the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Johnny Lyu is the CEO of KuCoin, a cryptocurrency commutation launched in 2022. Before joining KuCoin, he had accumulated abundant experience in the east-commerce, auto and luxury industries.