Have you seen *Ready Player One*? The scene where he wears VR goggles, races through the Oasis world, and collects treasures—you’re actually already experiencing a simplified version of that right now. Every time you spend 60 yuan on LINE dynamic sticker packs, you use Bear Big to whip his head around and suppress the elder photos in your family group chat. That’s basically the same logic as NFT players buying land in a virtual world and trading digital art. The only difference is that one is buying a “platform usage right,” while the other is buying a “real asset you can take with you.”

In recent years, the topic of the metaverse and NFTs has become wildly popular, but many people still don’t really get it. Today, let’s lay out this whole logic clearly.

First, let’s talk about the metaverse. The concept actually comes from a sci-fi novel called *Snow Crash* from 1992, which describes a virtual world parallel to reality, where everyone has a digital avatar. Put in today’s terms, the metaverse is a visually rich virtual space—you can work, be entertained, shop, and socialize inside it. The technology behind it is blockchain and NFTs. Venture capitalist Matthew Ball put it well: “The metaverse represents the fourth wave of computing after mainframes, personal computers, and mobile devices.”

So what are NFTs? Simply put, NFTs are digital assets based on blockchain, playing the role of a “tamper-proof identity card” in the metaverse. They provide proof of ownership and scarcity for virtual assets. Without NFTs, what happens? The game treasures you buy can’t be resold, the virtual clothes you design can only be worn by you, and the houses you build can be taken down by the platform at any time—your asset value is entirely locked inside the servers. But with NFTs, these things can be freely traded on the blockchain, truly belonging to you.

The difference between traditional digital assets and NFTs is still quite significant. Traditional things can usually be copied infinitely, ownership is hard to prove, and transactions are also restricted by platforms. NFTs are completely different—each one is unique, ownership is clearly recorded through the blockchain, they can be freely traded across multiple marketplaces, and after content is created, it is usually not modifiable.

The relationship between the metaverse and cryptocurrencies is truly one of shared prosperity and shared loss. During the last 2021 bull market, projects like Decentraland and The Sandbox sparked a frenzy, with large amounts of capital flowing in. The MANA token rose by 4,100%, and The Sandbox’s average virtual land price jumped from 1000 to 45000, surpassing the growth rate of real estate in Taipei. But when the crypto market topped out and fell back, the floor prices of these projects kept hitting new lows, and many niche projects were even left with no one paying attention.

Participating in the metaverse isn’t actually complicated. For ordinary investors, buying and selling NFTs is the most feasible approach. Step one is choosing a platform—OpenSea is the most mainstream choice. Step two is setting up a wallet; MetaMask is commonly used. Connect it to OpenSea and you can get started. Step three is buying cryptocurrency—usually Ethereum (ETH). You can buy it through an exchange and then transfer it to your wallet. Step four is picking the NFT projects you like or think are promising and buying them. If you feel the floor price is too high, you can try auctions—sometimes you can pick up a bargain. Step five, if you want to sell, just list your NFT on the marketplace or participate in auctions.

When entering the metaverse, there are three things to keep in mind: don’t enter your private key on unfamiliar platforms (that’s your bank password), don’t register all accounts with the same set of passwords, and don’t trust “guaranteed profit” NFT airdrop advertisements.

Honestly, metaverse and NFT investing does have barriers. Because this space is still relatively niche, many projects have insufficient liquidity and may face the situation of having no buyers. Most importantly, you need to be wary of scam projects—some things branded with “metaverse” are essentially just hot air, and once market hype fades, they can plunge in a cliff-like drop. If you’re not especially confident, it’s best to stay away from those low-profile projects.

From a long-term perspective, the metaverse’s outlook is still worth expecting. Big tech companies like Meta, Microsoft, and Google are investing—virtual reality and AI will become important components, and the share of the virtual economy will keep expanding. Related laws and regulations will gradually improve as well, lowering the entry barrier. In short, the metaverse has the opportunity to truly change the way people live and socialize.

In the end, the answer to what NFTs are comes down to this: they are a bridge connecting virtual assets and real ownership. Although there is still a bubble right now, the technology itself has potential. As long as you manage risk well, it’s still possible for small capital to test the waters.