Real estate prices soar on metaverse, too

Korea’s metaverse real estate sales platform Metaverse 2 said Tuesday its virtual land price has surged in the last six months, amid the growing trend towards alternative ways to build wealth using the blockchain technology.

The company said the price of some shares that own Lotte World Tower, the country’s tallest building and one of the most famous landmarks in Seoul, increased 180,000 times to $18,300 as of Friday.

The average price of 10 square meters of land in New York City’s Theater District area in Midtown Manhattan, soared to $6,439 recently, it added.

“Although we have limited the maximum selling price of land as much as twice the original price to prevent land speculation, it seems the price has skyrocketed due to a surge in transactions,” the company said.

The number of users has increased to 70,000 and some 20 percent of them are international users, it added.

“Currently, users can purchase and sell land, buildings and landmarks in Seoul and New York,” a Metaverse 2 official said.

“The eight landmarks in Seoul include Seoul City Hall, Deoksu Palace, Lotte World Tower and Nine One Hannam. There are also eight landmarks in New York such as Times Square, Statute of Liberty, New York City Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Lincoln Center.”

The landmark owners can make a profit by putting up ads on billboards or holding concerts of famed musicians, according to the company. Owners of landmark art galleries or museums can hold exhibitions and earn money from tourists in the virtual world, it added.

In addition to the virtual land sales in the two cities, Metaverse 2 plans to provide real estate transaction service in the metaverse versions of Las Vegas and Paris starting March 11.

Just like in metaverse Seoul and New York, users in metaverse Paris can buy the land after exchanging Korean won into meta dollars. One meta dollar equals one US dollar, the company said.

In the case of metaverse Las Vegas, users must change the Korean won into meta token, a cryptocurrency created by the company, and use them to purchase land.

With further updates, the company said users -- represented as avatars -- will be able to interact in virtual offices and hold meetings there in the future.

Launched in 2021, Metaverse 2 provides real estate transaction services where users can buy and sell plots of digital land. The minimum transaction unit is 10 squares meters. The platform offers real-time information such as the land’s price, current market value and owner, ownership history and location through the blockchain technology.

By Byun Hye-jin (hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)