Now that Facebook announced has announced its rebranding as Meta, the term ‘metaverse’ has grown common. Facebook’s shift towards this new development is part of its effort to step into Web3, which it calls the future of the internet.

Consequently, you may see plenty of headlines about NFTs. Blockchain, crypto, and the metaverse. You’re probably wondering about the link between them. Now consider your physical world and the things that exist around you. Then think about the things and people you interact with. If you can imagine all of this being digital, you’ve imagined the metaverse.

Cathy Hackl, who is often called the godmother of the metaverse, told magazine outlets about the metaverse. She explained that the ecosystem would cause the internet to go beyond the devices we hold in our hands. It would allow us to experience it all around.

Giving quite an appropriate analogy, she explained that it’s similar to the Sims game that many kids have grown up playing. Except, of course, the metaverse is much more comprehensive. For instance, social platforms like Cryptovoxels and Decentraland are already the implementing this concept. According to the host of the cryptocurrency podcast Zima Red, Andrew Steinwold, these are examples of social media in the metaverse.

According to him, a metaverse would allow users to do all the same things, but in a more immersive way. You can still build a photo gallery, be social, and show off your creativity. Similarly, you can chat with friends and attend events.

But you’re probably prompted to think where NFTs fit in with all of this. In actuality, they are the underlying factor for the whole ecosystem. According to the head of Polygon’s gaming and NFT domain, Shreyansh Singh, NFTs are the digital aspect of unlocking the metaverse.

NFTs, better known as nonfungible tokens, are individual digital assets saved on a blockchain. The tokens act as a proof of ownership in the digital world. Steinwold, who is a managing partner of Sfermion, an NFT-focused firm, said that NFTs were the last piece of the puzzle. Now that they’re here, the metaverse can come to life.

He explained it this way. So suppose you have a Fortnite skin, which is digital apparel for video game avatars. Even if you spend endless hours and money trying to get a skin, you don’t own it. In the end, Epic Games, the company who makes Fortnite, owns the skin.

In his opinion, the internet as it is acts as a communist system where users add much value but don’t get anything. By adding the aspect of NFTs, the internet itself becomes more capitalistic. It allows your effort, time, and money to be rewarded with actual ownership of something.