Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Feels Meta's Metaverse Attempts Will 'Misfire'

Since Facebook’s rebranding to Meta, it has focused on building the metaverse.

By Shomik Sen Bhattacharjee | Updated: 1 August 2022 13:34 IST

Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Feels Meta's Metaverse Attempts Will 'Misfire'

Photo Credit: YouTube/ TechCrunch

A slew of corporate organizations has hopped on the metaverse bandwagon

Highlights

Buterin notes that there's yet to be a definition for the metaverse
Buterin believes it's too early to predict what consumers want
Meta currently leads corporate interest in creating the metaverse

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes that corporate attempts to build the metaverse will fail. In a Twitter thread over the weekend, the Ethereum co-founder also argued that there is not even a broadly accepted definition of the term yet, so it is too early to predict what consumers will want. Buterin said this while responding to the views of blockchain auditor Dean Eigenmann, who pointed out that while the ideas on the metaverse concept make sense, he doesn't think it'll happen through Venture Capitalist funding.

Buterin namechecked Meta in his critique of the corporates entering the space. "Anything Facebook creates now will misfire," he wrote in response to a tweet, arguing that metaverse-focused companies would likely fail because "it's far too early to know what people actually want."

The "metaverse" is going to happen but I don't think any of the existing corporate attempts to intentionally create the metaverse are going anywhere. https://t.co/tVUfq4CWmP
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 30, 2022

The Ethereum creator shared his perspective on where the nascent space could be headed on Twitter on Sunday, saying he thinks that companies that are trying to create the metaverse are unlikely to succeed in their endeavours. While he said that he thinks the metaverse "is going to happen," he added that he doesn't think "any of the existing corporate attempts to intentionally create the metaverse are going anywhere."

My critique is deeper than "Metaverse Wikipedia will beat Metaverse Encyclopedia Britannica". It's that we don't really know the definition of "the metaverse" yet, it's far too early to know what people actually want. So anything Facebook creates now will misfire.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 31, 2022

It is worth recalling that the most notable corporate player to show interest in the metaverse to date has been Meta — Facebook's parent company that rebranded as part of a shift to embrace the metaverse late last year.

While Meta is not likely to incorporate blockchain technology or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into its metaverse, many decentralised metaverse programs have emerged in recent months leveraging the technology.

Buterin, meanwhile, has become known for his outspoken personality as his public profile has grown with Ethereum over the years. He often uses his Twitter account and blog to discuss Ethereum's technology and how decentralisation could impact the world. However, Buterin has rarely speculated on the metaverse and its future making his recent comments on the topic a tad more noteworthy.

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