Istanbul’s virtual lands sold in scramble in metaverse world

ISTANBUL

Some 20,000 virtual lands in Turkey and more than 11,000 virtual lands in Istanbul have been sold on a game-based metaverse platform, which is considered the future of the internet.

The purchased lands in the online world are known for being the most valuable areas of Turkey in real life, such as İstiklal Avenue, 15 July Martyrs Bridge, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Ortaköy, Kadıköy, Nişantaşı and Bebek.

The world is divided into 1.6 trillion hexagons in OVR, an online environment where various tasks are performed via the mobile application and where users can exchange cryptocurrencies for land and buildings.

These virtual lands can be determined on the city’s map and purchased by auction. The average price of virtual land in Istanbul is around 200 liras ($15), but prices may vary depending on location.

While a virtual land is around 135 liras ($10) in Bağcılar, a working-class district in Istanbul’s European side, this figure rises to 500 liras ($35) in Ortaköy, a vibrant quarter right next to the Bosphorus.

Since the size of the areas is small, the cost of a large virtual land with 50 parcels in any district can reach up to 20,000 liras ($1,530), but it is difficult to find a suitable place in areas that are already crowded and active in real life.

Symbolic areas such as stadiums, palaces, mosques and bridges are already sold out in the metaverse. In other words, only the lands that may be valued in the future are left for new users.

OVR is one of the most affordable universes in the metaverse world. In the most popular ones, such as Sandbox and Decentraland, the prices reach astronomical figures.

The cost of the cheapest virtual land is 3 Ethereum ($12,000) in Sandbox, which is the oldest and most popular Metaverse area, where the number of virtual lands is limited.

In this metaverse universe, just like in real life, lands with sea views and close to famous names or brands are highly valuable.

However, experts warn consumers to be careful in the metaverse world, as with any transaction made over the internet.

Pointing out that there is no inspection or guarantee regarding the purchases made in the metaverse universes, which has just started to emerge as a new development for the last consumers, experts say it is useful to be cautious.

Referring to the fact that financial transactions are made with cryptocurrencies, experts state that there are no legal regulations regarding the control or security of cryptocurrencies.