Digital identity in the Metaverse will be represented by avatars with utility

cointelegraph.com:

The Metaverse is poised to become tech’s next trillion-dollar opportunity, as an increasing number of companies are showing interest in immersive virtual spaces that will allow consumers to go beyond what’s possible in real life. This was highlighted in a recent report from CB Insights, which found that the Metaverse will disrupt at least 13 leading industries including fashion, retail, gaming, education and more. 

While notable, various metaverse environments are still underway. For example, tech giant Microsoft announced on May 24 the creation of an “industrial metaverse,” which will allow workers to wear augmented reality headsets to manage supply chains. On the other hand, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) believes that gaming infrastructure and technologies will be “key building blocks of the Metaverse.”

As such, it remains unclear which type of metaverse ecosystem will resonate the most with consumers. Given recent developments, however, it appears certain that avatars in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) will play a critical role in the Metaverse, serving as a user’s digital identity within virtual spaces.

For instance, Sebastien Borget, co-founder and chief operating officer of The Sandbox — a blockchain-based metaverse project — told Cointelegraph that avatars are the new representation of a user’s identity in the Metaverse:

Borget added that avatars in the Metaverse are capable of representing a user’s different moods, tastes and appearances. “Avatars ultimately shape how we interact within the Metaverse,” he said.

To put this in perspective, Borget shared that The Sandbox plans to create Elvis Presley avatars to be used within their metaverse ecosystem, which would allow millions of users to