How blockchain and virtual worlds create new business models

Metaverses: from concept to economic reality

As of 2025, the global metaverse market is valued at $316.34 billion, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.83% through 2030. In 2024, this figure stood at $227.05 billion, indicating a significant acceleration in growth.

Several key factors drive the metaverse market expansion. First is the advancement of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies, which have greatly enhanced the quality of digital worlds.

Second, integrating blockchain technology plays a crucial role by ensuring the transparency and security of transactions, while opening new possibilities for monetizing digital assets within metaverses.

Finally, growing interest from major global brands significantly accelerates the industry's development: companies like Adidas, Samsung, and Sotheby's actively invest in virtual spaces, host events, and create digital presences in metaverses.

Expanding the user base, especially among the digital-native generation, supports metaverse growth. Young users raised with the internet and mobile technologies naturally embrace new interaction formats such as AR filters and virtual avatars, which are already integrated into popular social networks like TikTok. Streaming platforms, including Twitch and YouTube, enhance functionality by introducing NFTs and virtual goods, increasing engagement and content monetization.

Applications of metaverses:

Virtual real estate. Buying and selling land parcels on platforms like The Sandbox and Decentraland have become popular investment tools. For example, plots near the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) community — one of the most renowned and prestigious NFT projects — gain exceptional value due to status and popularity. Prices for such plots reach record levels, up to $450,000 per parcel.
Education and work. Metaverse platforms such as Virbela and Spatial offer advanced virtual classrooms and office spaces with immersive interfaces. Universities like Stanford and MIT use these technologies to conduct interactive lectures and seminars, enhancing student engagement and learning quality.
Entertainment and culture. Events are increasingly moving into metaverses. For instance, Decentraland hosted a virtual concert by The Weeknd in 2023 with an audience exceeding 2 million users.

NFT: from collectibles to functional assets

Non-fungible tokens continue to evolve, transitioning from digital collectibles to fully functional tools for representing and monetizing unique assets.

The NFT market is forecasted to reach $61.01 billion by 2025, growing annually at about 41.6%. Meanwhile, the number of active NFT users is expected to be around 11.64 million, with an average revenue per user projected at $52.3 per year.

NFT applications:

Digital art. NFTs are a key tool for verifying artworks' authenticity, providing artists and collectors with immutable ownership rights and transparent trading on global marketplaces. The sale of Beeple's digital collage "Everydays: The First 5000 Days" at Christie's for a record $69.3 million marked a new era in the art market.
Music and entertainment. Tokenization allows artists to interact directly with fans and monetize exclusive content through NFTs. For example, the band Kings of Leon released their album "When You See Yourself" as an NFT, including exclusive rights and tickets to virtual concerts.
Gaming and virtual goods. NFTs create unique in-game items — characters, skins, land plots, and other digital assets — that players can freely buy, sell, and trade. Axie Infinity exemplifies a play-to-earn model where NFT pets are core assets, generating income for players through usage and trade.
Tokenization of real assets. NFTs unlock innovative possibilities for simplifying transactions involving real estate, cars, and other physical goods. Propy offers a platform for buying and selling real estate using NFTs, enhancing transparency and reducing transaction time. Similarly, automotive manufacturers experiment with digital certificates for cars as NFTs, streamlining resale and servicing processes.

Future outlook

The prospects for metaverses and NFTs in the coming years are promising.

A key growth driver is the substantial increase in investments in the infrastructure supporting these technologies. For example, in 2024, Chinese tech giant Tencent significantly ramped up investments in the NFT and metaverse sectors, supporting blockchain startups like Matr1x, the NFT marketplace Epik Prime, and the Web3 data infrastructure Chainbase. These investments foster new business models and strengthen Tencent's position in the digital asset market.

Technological innovations also play a decisive role in advancing metaverses and NFTs. The widespread rollout of 5G networks substantially improves the quality and accessibility of virtual worlds. Meanwhile, enhancements in blockchain protocols such as Ethereum 2.0 and new Layer 2 solutions increase throughput and reduce transaction costs, critical factors for scaling the NFT ecosystem.

The integration of virtual and real-world brands opens new commercial opportunities. Renowned companies, including Nike and Gucci, launch exclusive NFT collections and organize events within metaverses. This approach boosts user engagement and creates new revenue streams by combining traditional marketing with innovative digital tools.

Metaverses and NFTs are shaping a new paradigm in the digital economy, where the boundaries between virtual and physical realities increasingly blur. Their development fosters decentralized ecosystems that redefine ownership, interaction, and value creation, ultimately impacting global market structures and social processes.