Vitalik Buterin: Facebook Won’t Get What it Wants on Metaverse

MetaversePlanet August 2, 2022Last Updated: August 14, 2024

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Ethereum Co-Founder, Vitalik Buterin, has expressed skepticism regarding current corporate endeavors to create metaverses, asserting that he doubts the success of these efforts, including those of Meta.

Responding to a post by Dialectic Co-Founder Dean Eigenmann, who suggested that venture capitalists might be mistaken about the ideal form of a metaverse, Buterin shared his belief that the metaverse will manifest itself organically.

However, he voiced doubt that the ongoing initiatives by companies like Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, will achieve the desired outcomes.

Vitalik Buterin: Facebook Won't Get What it Wants on Metaverse

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 concept of the metaverse is often described as an interactive 3D online world centered around social connections, frequently incorporating technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Despite Vitalik Buterin’s pessimistic remarks, several successful metaverse projects, utilizing blockchain technology, such as Decentraland and The Sandbox, have been launched. However, Buterin remains skeptical about Meta’s attempt to create a metaverse, asserting that its current form is unlikely to be successful as the definition and user cases of the metaverse remain unclear:

“The definition of ‘metaverse’ is still unknown; it’s too early to discern people’s preferences. Therefore, anything Facebook endeavors to create may not materialize.”

Meta has introduced various AR and VR applications, including Meta Horizons Workroom, a VR space for collaborative discussions among colleagues. The company has also developed first-generation smart glasses, enabling users to connect to the metaverse by recording audio and video and navigating virtual worlds.

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

Critics argue that the centralized metaverses developed by companies like Meta and Microsoft could impact the decentralized ownership of products and services within these virtual realms.

In response to this concern, metaverse developers such as Decentraland and The Sandbox have collaboratively joined forces with other Web3 projects to establish the Open Metaverse Association (OMA3). This association is dedicated to fostering more transparent, inclusive, decentralized, and democratic metaverses.

The Metaverse Standards Forum (MSF) is also committed to advancing these principles by working towards the creation of standards that promote openness and interoperability in virtual worlds. Notably, among the 35 technology companies affiliated with MSF, major players such as Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alibaba, Unity, and Sony are actively participating.