Remember the movie "Ready Player One"? The protagonist wears VR goggles, racing in the Oasis, earning treasures—looks super cool. But in reality, we've long been living in a simplified version of the metaverse, just no one calls it that.

Think about it, spending 60 yuan on LINE animated stickers, using a bear's head-shaking GIF to suppress elders in family groups—this is essentially no different from NFT players buying land in virtual worlds or trading digital art on OpenSea. The only difference is: you buy a "license to use the game company's server," while they buy a "digital asset that can be taken to any universe." This is the core difference between the metaverse and NFTs.

The concept of the metaverse actually originates from a sci-fi novel in 1992, describing a virtual world parallel to reality. Today's definition has become broader—the metaverse is a visually rich virtual space where people can work, entertain, shop, and socialize, all supported by blockchain and NFTs.

Venture capitalists once said something that left a deep impression on me: "The metaverse represents the fourth wave of computing after mainframes, personal computers, and mobile devices." Seen this way, the metaverse is indeed not just hype but a genuine technological evolution direction.

So, what role do NFTs play in the metaverse? Simply put, NFTs are the "anti-counterfeit ID" of the metaverse. Without NFTs, what would the metaverse look like? You couldn't resell your game items, virtual clothes you design could only be worn by yourself, and the houses you painstakingly build could be taken down by the platform at any time. That’s why NFTs are so important—they leverage blockchain's immutable nature to make virtual assets truly belong to you, allowing free trading.

I’ve looked at data from the last bull market: Decentraland and The Sandbox were extremely popular. MANA tokens surged over 4,000%, virtual land prices skyrocketed from 1,000 to 45,000, surpassing Taipei real estate gains. The entire metaverse and NFT market peaked, with massive capital inflows fueling the entire crypto market.

But then the bear market arrived, and the floor prices of these projects kept hitting new lows; halving prices became normal. Some niche NFT projects even became completely abandoned, unable to sell at all. So if you want to participate in metaverse investments, you must be cautious.

For ordinary people, the simplest way to get involved is by buying and trading NFTs. First, choose an NFT trading platform; OpenSea is the most mainstream option. Then set up a digital wallet—MetaMask is quite common. After logging into the platform and connecting your wallet, you can start trading.

Next, you need to buy some cryptocurrency, like Ethereum. This can be done through major exchanges, then transferred into your digital wallet. With funds in place, you can browse NFT marketplaces, select projects you like or find promising, and purchase. If the floor price is too high, you can also participate in auctions—sometimes you can snag a bargain.

Selling NFTs is also straightforward: find your NFT in your profile, choose to list it or put it up for auction. If someone bids, you can accept the offer or wait for a higher bidder.

But here are some safety tips: never input your private key on unfamiliar platforms (that’s like telling strangers your bank password), don’t use the same password for all accounts, and don’t believe in "guaranteed profit" NFT airdrop ads.

Honestly, metaverse investing still has barriers. Most projects lack liquidity and risk being abandoned. Plus, there are many scams—many projects claiming to be part of the metaverse are just hype and air. When the market cools down, prices can plummet sharply.

My advice is, if you're a beginner, start with small capital to learn. Avoid projects that are completely unfamiliar or lack reputation. Compared to stocks or futures, NFT investment has a higher capital threshold and overall lower liquidity, but the advantage is that you can trade anytime, and the volatility is higher.

In the long run, the outlook for the metaverse remains promising. Tech giants like Meta, Microsoft, and Google are investing heavily in the metaverse, with virtual reality and artificial intelligence becoming key components. More applications and business models are likely to emerge, blurring the boundaries between the metaverse and reality.

For the NFT space, I expect future regulations to become more comprehensive, reducing entry barriers and curbing bad actors. The metaverse is not inherently a scam—mainstream projects have real applications. But all investments carry risks; the key is to maintain good trading discipline and risk awareness. As long as you avoid leverage and ensure liquidity, you can enter and exit freely.