Not long ago, the metaverse was on every tech panel, every crypto Twitter thread, and every investor’s radar. The whole positioning of metaverses was as the future of human interaction — a place where virtual offices, NFT economies, and immersive avatars would change the way we are used to living. Facebook rebranded as Meta. Virtual real estate sold for millions. Even legacy brands strived to build their digital footprints.
Then... silence.
So, what exactly happened to the metaverse — and is it truly dead?
The Rise: When the Metaverse Was Everything
In 2020–2021, humanity was locked down in their homes, tired of Zoom and grasping for anything that provided human-like interaction. At the same time, crypto had just entered the scene, and NFTs were on the rise. The metaverse seemed poised to change everything.
Virtual worlds like Decentraland (MANA), The Sandbox (SAND), and Axie Infinity (AXS) exploded — NFTs went viral, and brands from Adidas to Sotheby’s bought land and opened virtual shops on metaverse platforms. Facebook bet $47 billion on Reality Labs, rebranded as Meta, and positioned itself as a metaverse-first company.
The dream was to create a persistent, immersive digital universe that would mirror — or even substitute — real life.
The Fall: When Reality Hit Back
Then came the crash.
Once the pandemic stopped hitting hard, lockdown restrictions were lifted, and people returned to the office. Markets also cooled, and metaverse projects struggled to hold users. As user bases expanded, play-to-earn models also failed, requiring bigger investments than potential short-term returns. Subsequently, token prices dived deep — SAND lost nearly 97%, and AXS dropped from $165 to under $3.
Even the terminology began to shift. Apple notably avoided the word "metaverse" altogether, favoring "spatial computing" when unveiling the Vision Pro.
The excitement collapsed under the weight of unmet expectations, complex UX, hardware limitations, and a lack of real-world utility.
By 2023, many were saying that crypto metaverses were dead. The numbers told part of the story — Decentraland, one of the biggest Web3 virtual worlds, had just over 200,000 monthly active users. Games like Fortnite were pulling in tens of millions. It was a big gap, and it showed that Web3 metaverses could not keep up with more familiar Web2 platforms.
At the same time, the NFT boom faded. NFTs had been a key part of the metaverse vision — powering things like digital clothes, land, and unique characters. But when interest in NFTs dropped, the whole idea of owning things in a virtual world became… less exciting.
Where Metaverse Ideas Still Thrive
The original idea to shift from the real world to the metaverse is behind us. Yet, core technologies are still very much alive — virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), digital identity, and decentralized ownership are integrated into the most unexpected aspects of our lives. However, they don’t have anything in common with crypto.
So, what industries inherited these ideas? Healthcare, where VR is used in surgical training and PTSD therapy; manufacturing, through digital twins that simulate production lines; retail, with AR-enabled virtual try-ons; and enterprise, where 3D collaboration tools are reshaping remote work.
Even if the biggest players gave up the metaverse, they still offer ways to modify our reality — think of Nvidia’s Omniverse and Apple’s Vision Pro. They’re enhancing how we interact with the world without escaping it.
Not only big tech but also users are putting their toes in the digital layers:
- 24% visit virtual art galleries or participate in wellness and fitness activities
- 22% shop for physical products in virtual spaces
- 22% attend virtual conferences, training sessions, or educational events
- 22% explore virtual travel and tourism experiences
- 18% take part in virtual brand events or promotional activations
- 17% have purchased cryptocurrency within a metaverse environment
- 14% buy virtual accessories or skins for gaming avatars
- 14% collect NFTs
- 12% purchase tickets to virtual concerts or events
- 6% buy virtual real estate
In short, while the dream of a one-size-fits-all metaverse faded, its most useful components are finding new traction — not as substitutes but as digital extensions of the world we already live in.
Crypto Holders Still Live in Digital Reamls
On-chain data suggests that long-term investors are still accumulating MANA, SAND, and AXS at lower prices. This means they are betting on a long run of these projects’ ideas.
The metaverse narrative has cooled, but the broader vision of living in crypto is very much alive. Why escape to the digital world to spend crypto when you can have the Kolo Crypto Card, which makes it possible to spend any crypto just like cash — at shops, online, or while traveling? That’s not a metaverse. That’s real.
The irony? The metaverse promised to make digital life feel real, while crypto ended up making real life feel more digital.
The Metaverse Isn’t Dead. It Faded.
The numbers don’t lie. User interest dropped, token prices crashed, and even tech giants quietly distanced away from the word “metaverse.” What was once pitched as the future of everything now survives only in niche use cases and enterprise tools.
Yes, some parts live on — in VR healthcare training, digital twins, and crypto payments. But the original vision of a shared, immersive world? That chapter is over. The metaverse didn’t crash. It slowly lost our attention.
