An initial analysis of DappRadar data on October 11 (1) revealed extremely poor engagement statistics for Decentraland, one of the most touted metaverses on Web3. The figures stunned the neighborhood because the platform is currently valued at $1.2 billion.

The published figure of fewer than 40 unique wallets (UAW) (2) was not a true reflection of the activity on the network, according to DappRadar and Decentraland. They both confirmed this shortly after the initial report went public. At the time of writing, the UAW was over 600, according to DappRadar’s tracker.

A DappRadar analysis showed that blockchain games and metaverse projects raised $1.3 billion in the third fiscal quarter. However, if user involvement is poor, what is enticing investors to continue funding the metaverse? The head of content at DappRadar, Robert Hoogendoorn (3), claims that the decline in the value of crypto tokens and the amount of trading in US dollars for metaverse land only decreased by 11%.

This shows that there is still a need for it and highlights that participation in the metaverse involves much more than simply signing up. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) activity and development teams utilizing one another’s open-source software are also important aspects of participation.

It’s not a one-way stream from company to customer; it’s a network of interconnected stakeholders, including builders, creators, consumers, investors, organizers, and so on. Sam Hamilton, the Decentraland Foundation’s creative director, said that it is clear that the industry is still in its infancy and proceeded by noting that despite the numbers, people are still engaging in this creative environment.

Hamilton is aware that many people disregard the metaverse as nothing more than mindless entertainment, but its creators are actually building something much more significant. It becomes very challenging for the user to remain narrow-minded and only care about numbers when they spend their days creating something as significant and enormous as the metaverse.

Negative reactions to significant technical changes are nothing new, but Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands (4), anticipates that they will change as the technology matures. Siu emphasized that the decentralized metaverse is a better business model from an operational standpoint, making it simpler to raise funds and provide cool opportunities for clients.

However, he claimed that it is much more crucial from the customer’s perspective because products and services now offer empowerment like never before. Non-fungible ownership gives people a stake and a voice in the items and services they use and additional benefits from digital goods and data.

According to Siu, who has previously been reported claiming that blockchain is not merely a technology shift but also one that enables socio-political transformation, GameFi will serve as the user onboarding point for the metaverse.

Some crypto-Twitter users have questioned the value of the metaverse. Still, developers and investors have shown no hesitancy in creating a digital universe because new events and tools are continually being introduced to make the metaverse more palpable for users.