VOA慢速英语2021--投资者正在虚拟世界购买土地

Last month, a Singapore investor¹ bought a digital artwork for $69 million. Since the art does not have a physical form, it cannot appear in a usual museum.

The artwork is "Everydays: The First 5000 Days," by the American artist Beeple. It is a non-fungible token², or NFT. It only exists in digital form. It is based on a technology called blockchain, which is also used with digital money systems known as cryptocurrency.

The investor is Metakovan, whose real name is Vignesh Sundaresan. He plans to show the artwork in four virtual³ world environments. He is working with professionals to design structures where people can enter using computers or virtual reality technology. As a whole, the name given to virtual worlds and the internet is "the metaverse."

But art is just one part of a new economy of virtual worlds based on blockchain in the metaverse. In these worlds, there are NFTs representing land, buildings, images and even names. They often sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. There, people can walk around with friends, visit virtual buildings and attend virtual events.

Metakovan says he is the world's biggest NFT investor. NonFungible.com, a web site that records sales of NFTs, says his collection is valued at 189 million dollars.

Anand Venkateswaran is Metakovan's business partner and uses the name Twobadour. He thinks sales of NFTs will increase even more after people see for themselves how they work. "The real explosion will happen when they're able to ... experience these NFTs as they were intended," he said.

Interests in virtual worlds

Existing virtual worlds, including Decentraland, Cryptovoxels, Somnium Space and The Sandbox, have seen new highs on prices of land, images and others.

Decentraland sold a 41,216 virtual-square-meter piece for $572,000 on April 11. And Somnium Space said a structure on its virtual world received more than $500,000 on March 16.

Decentraland conducted a virtual fashion show with clothing maker⁴ Adidas where designs were sold as NFTs. It also had interest from musicians to perform and sell tickets as NFTs.

One example of an attraction in the virtual worlds is Atari's game-playing area within Decentraland. The videogame company also plans to open a casino. Frederic Chesnais is head of Atari's blockchain division and the company's former leader. He told Reuters that online environments are going to be "very, very big" and land prices could one day sell for millions of dollars.

Sebastien Borget is co-founder⁵ of The Sandbox. He said the economic activity within virtual worlds is like a new nation forming. He thinks the NFT-based economy would be larger than the real-world one within ten years.

Ben Nolan is founder of the virtual world Cryptovoxels. He warned, "Doing NFTs as an investment or as a way to make money is really ill-advised."

However, he sees a future for virtual worlds and NFTs. "Actually walking around with another person in a virtual space and looking at art together is a really nice way to spend time," he said.

Words in This Story

digital - adj. using or characterized⁶ by computer technology

cryptocurrency – n. a digital currency in which transactions⁷ are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system using cryptography, rather than by a centralized authority

virtual – adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

intend – -v. meant to be; planned

ill-advised – adj. not wise or sensible; foolish

1 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

2 token   

n.筹码，信物，纪念品，礼券；adj.象征性的

参考例句：

• This little gift is a token of our regard.这点礼物是我们大家的一点心意。
• Black is a token of mourning.黑色是沮丧的象征。

3 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

4 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 characterized   

adj.[医]具有特征的v.是…的特征( characterize的过去式和过去分词 )；以…为特征；描述（人或物）的特性；使…具有特点（或最引人注目的特征）

参考例句：

• Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity. 莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The world situation is characterized by turbulence and intranquility. 世界局势动荡不安。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 transactions   

处理( transaction的名词复数 )； 事务； （一笔）交易； [复数]（学术团体等的）议事录

参考例句：

• a system of paperless business transactions 无纸商业交易系统
• financial transactions between companies 公司之间的财务往来