Metaverse tokens have exploded in the past 24 hours after the announcement of Facebook’s rebranding to Meta, as the company shifts its long-term focus from social media and messaging to immersive 3D virtual environments.
At time of press Decentraland (MANA) is up 54.8%, Axie Infinity (AXS) is up 15.5%, The Sandbox (SAND) is up 23%, and Dentral Games (DG) has recorded gains of 13.8%.
Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the shift in focus during his Connect 2021 main presentation, delivered on October 28. Appearing initially from the real world, Zuckerberg then bathed in an otherworldly blue light before being transported to a simulated virtual reality.
“Over time, I hope that we will be seen as a metaverse company and I want to anchor our work and our identity to what we are building towards,” he said. “It is time for us to adopt a new company brand to encompass everything that we do, to reflect who we are and what we hope to build.”
A suite of new features will be rolled out by Meta over the coming year, incorporating Facebook and Instagram into metaverse work environments and offering multiple user accounts, allowing users to separate their personal and professional lives.
While the metaverse is already big news in the cryptosphere, Facebook’s branding change naturally brings greater exposure within the sector and beyond.
Facebook, Meta and Diem
Facebook’s recent rebranding isn’t the first time Zuckerberg has aligned the company’s interests with crypto-related technologies. In 2019 the Facebook CEO set the crypto world into a frenzy when he announced the launch of a new cryptocurrency dubbed Libra.
The plan caught the attention of Congress and has since languished in development hell, losing key founding members of its board, matching its ambitions and renaming it Diem.
Zuckerberg and Meta will undoubtedly hope that their next brush with the cryptosphere is less fraught with difficulty.
