Recently, I’ve been thinking about something quite interesting—you’re essentially doing the same thing every time you spend 60 yuan to buy LINE dynamic stickers as those people who buy land in virtual worlds or trade NFTs in the metaverse. The difference is only this: you’re purchasing the right to use a game company’s servers, while they’re buying digital assets that can be taken anywhere. This is the core difference between the metaverse and NFTs.

Speaking of the metaverse, the concept itself isn’t new. As early as 1992, someone depicted it in a novel: a virtual world parallel to reality, where everyone has their own online avatar. Today’s understanding of the metaverse is a virtual space where you can work, be entertained, shop, and socialize—and all of this can’t happen without blockchain and NFT technology.

Venture capitalist Matthew Ball has a line that really stuck with me. He said that the metaverse represents the fourth wave of computing after mainframes, personal computers, and mobile devices. This isn’t just hype—it’s a real direction of technological evolution.

So what role do NFTs play in all of this? Simply put, NFTs are the metaverse’s “anti-counterfeit ID cards.” Without them, what would happen? The game treasures you buy can’t be resold; the virtual clothes you design can only be worn by you; and the metaverse houses you build can be taken down by the platform at any time. But with NFTs, these assets truly belong to you, can be freely traded across multiple markets, and your rights—copyright and ownership—are clearly defined.

I remember how huge the buzz was during the 2021 bull market—Decentraland and The Sandbox really caught fire. The MANA token surged by 4,100%, outperforming Bitcoin in the same period. Virtual land prices skyrocketed from 1,000 to 45,000, an increase that exceeded Taipei’s real estate market. At that time, there was indeed a large influx of funds, which propelled the entire crypto market.

But what happened later? Once cryptocurrencies topped out and pulled back, metaverse-related NFTs were cut in half as well. Some niche projects even ended up with nobody paying attention—there was simply no way to sell them. That’s also why I want to remind everyone: metaverse investing does have a liquidity problem; many projects lack real, practical use cases.

If you really want to get involved, the most direct way is to buy and trade NFTs. The process isn’t complicated: first choose a mainstream marketplace like OpenSea, set up a MetaMask wallet (this is the most common), buy Ethereum or other cryptocurrencies, and then you can start browsing and shopping. When buying, you can place bids or participate in auctions; when selling, you can list or auction as well—if someone comes in to take over, you can earn returns.

But here are three “don’ts” you must remember: don’t enter your private key on unfamiliar platforms (that’s equivalent to a bank password), don’t use the same set of passwords to register all accounts, and don’t trust NFT airdrop ads that claim “guaranteed profits.”

Honestly, for people who are just getting started in this field, it’s more suitable to test the waters with small funds. Because metaverse projects vary widely in quality—some don’t have any real “grounded” attributes at all; they’re purely hype and emotional trading. Once the market cools down, prices can fall off a cliff. So unless you genuinely understand a particular project, you should still be cautious.

Looking ahead, the metaverse’s potential is still there. Big companies like Meta, Microsoft, and Google are all investing. Virtual reality and AI technology will become important components. From an economic perspective, the share of the virtual economy will keep growing, and new business models and industry chains also have the potential to truly take root. Related laws and regulations will be gradually improved, which can lower the entry barrier and reduce bad behavior.

In summary, the metaverse and NFTs are not scams, but they also aren’t risk-free. Mainstream, well-known projects usually have real-world applications supporting them and aren’t completely “empty.” As long as you have basic knowledge, maintain good trading discipline, and don’t chase leverage, you can move in and out freely. This field is still in its early development stage—worth paying attention to, but make sure you do your homework before getting involved.