One of the key factors that influenced the metaverse space breaking into the mainstream last year was Facebook’s Meta rebrand and the Metaverse mania. Ever since these institutions have shown interest in the Metaverse – Crypto Technical, other investors have also joined the bandwagon igniting Metaverse token narratives. Right now, one of the latest institutions to venture into the Metaverse space is Apple.
Apple Embraces the Metaverse
On the 27th of February 2002, Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, talked about the growth and expansion of the firm’s reality apps. He teased the company’s metaverse ambitions and validated the vast potentials of metaverse application. Cook also affirmed that Apple is investing more into AR development on all of its devices.
Immediately his assertions were public, investors responded strongly which led to a surge in Apple stocks.
Apple stock surged after CEO discloses it’s investing in the Metaverse NEWS
The stock market witnessed a surge in the price of Apple stock a few hours after Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook affirmed that there’s significant potential in the Metaverse scene. He made this assertion during the firm’s Q1 2022 earnings call as he tries to explain the Metaverse.
When inquired about the opportunities available to Apple in the Metaverse, Cook replied, explaining that the company can recognize plenty of potentials in the space. Hence, they are taking appropriate steps to take advantage of the opportunities. He went on to say that the firm continues to explore emerging and new technologies which are very interesting to the firm.
To define simply, the metaverse is a reconcilable virtual universe established, in part, by individuals that offer gaming, socialization as well as live concerts. However, while the metaverse can be accessed using a browser, the experience is more wholesome using augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR).
Before Apples’s Q1 2022 earnings call, APPL had initially dipped by 3% to around $159.22 during normal trading hours. However, a few hours after the call, the price surged by 8% reaching a price of $167.23.
It is vital to note that the metaverse was not the only topic discussed during the call. According to Appleinsider, Cook also noted during the call that Apple has a total of 14,000 apps designed by ARKit on its store. ARKit is a developer platform in partnership with Apple that helps to develop apps that offer users smooth entry into the Metaverse.
On the other hand, Meta has shifted towards the use of the Oculus headset to give users fascinating experiences in the Metaverse. Meanwhile, Apple has placed its entire faith in AR technology. Apple has also scheduled a headset release for 2022, but according to Bloomberg, the release may be delayed due to software and hardware challenges.
Even though Cook has fully embraced the Metaverse, the headset said to be released is beloved to be primarily for communication, content consumption, and gaming. So far, Apple seems to be lagging behind Microsoft and Meta as both are moving forward with their plans to fully establish themselves in the metaverse.
Metaverse Interest Could Facilitate Token Growth
Following Facebook’s rebrand into Meta, there was a significant surge in interest in the Metaverse space. As a result, many of the Metaverse tokens saw a massive boost to new all-time highs as curiosity about the space increased.
MANA, a native token to a decentralized 3-D virtual reality platform established on the Ethereum blockchain known as Decentraland surged significantly during this period. The Metaverse token reached an all-time high price of $4.11 on the 31st of October 2021 after news of the Meta rebrand hit. Also, other metaverse tokens such as The Sandbox, and Enjin Coin surged considerably.
Similarly, if Apple should find a way to venture into the Metaverse realm shortly, these tokens should also experience another price rally. That being said, Cook’s assertions during the call did help some metaverse tokens see a slight price increase.
For instance, MANA saw a price increase of about 4% in the last 24% while SAND surged by 10% on the last day. In fact, the trading volume also saw a slight increase.
As regards Microsoft, the company just recently acquired Activision Blizzard as part of its endeavor to expand into the Metaverse. Microsoft spend a whopping sum of $69B in cash to acquire Activision Blizzard.