Samsung Electronics Is the Latest Tech Giant To Join the metaverse Market

Last year will be remembered as the year of the metaverse and NFTs, with global NFT sales topping $25 billion, compared to $94.9 million in 2020 according to DappRadar. With around 28.6 million wallets trading NFTs in 2021, up from some 545,000 in 2020. Furthermore, more than 90% of NFTs are collections or pieces of art in some way, with one piece of NFT art fetched a record $69.3 million at a Christie’s sale back in March 2021. It’s into this market that South Korean-based multinational Samsung recently announced that it will release three new TV models this year, all of which will be compatible with NFTs. According to Cointelegraph this will allow viewers to, “browse and also trade NFTs without leaving the couch.”

Purchase NFTs through your TV?

Given the tremendous rise of NFTs, it is not unexpected that an increasing number of tech giants are making a big deal about NFTs. Leading the pack, Samsung recently stated that it will launch three new NFT-compatible TV models in 2022: Micro LED, The Frame, and Neo QLED. People can view the NFTs they currently own on a larger screen and view other details about the NFTs, such as real-time quotes about transactions and information on the creators of the NFTs, which will be provided with these new TVs.

Owners of these new TVs will also be able to buy and sell NFTs directly from websites via the large screen. While Samsung Electronics has not stated which NFT exchanges it would support, insiders familiar with the matter say the company’s Smart Hub platform, like a smartphone or computer, will be able to connect to numerous NFT exchanges. According to the business, the units will also automatically calibrate what the developer or artist deems to be the ideal viewing conditions for the NFT for customers to enjoy.

Gaming and NFTs is the gateway to play-to-earn

The Samsung presentation also included the debut of its new Samsung Game Center, which the company claims will allow players to discover and play their games faster thanks to its streaming service, powered by Tizen. In the announcement ahead of the annual CES show in Las Vegas at the start of January, Samsung highlighted that select models will offer access to NVIDIA’s GeForce Now, Stadia, and Utomik as its first cloud-based game streaming partners, which may be described as a gaming super combo!

While cloud-based gaming via TV is not new, BigONE believes that combining this gaming feature with NFT compatibility is a completely novel approach. While not specifically mentioned by Samsung in the launch, the combination of NFTs and online gaming is a logical first step toward earning while playing (P2E) games, in which users earn cryptocurrencies and NFT tokens for in-game performance. However, the South Korean government previously outlawed all P2E games in its country, which could explain why Samsung has not explicitly linked its 2022 TV new games and NFT features.

Samsung leads with its Sandbox stake

In addition to games and NFT-compatible TVs, Samsung is focused on other metaverse-related project ideas. Through its venture capital arm, Samsung Next, the company recently participated in a funding round to support the metaverse gaming platform Sandbox, a project considered to be Samsung’s gateway to the metaverse, as well as for other tech giants to enter the metaverse arena. It remains to be seen whether other technology companies will follow Samsung’s lead in the future, but it will be interesting to see.

Sandbox (SAND) is one of numerous metaverse tokens that have gained traction in the cryptocurrency community in recent months. Its token has increased in value by 14,530% since the start of 2021, making it one of the top performing cryptocurrencies in 2021. BigONE advises investors to only invest in funds that they can afford to lose. While investing in Sandbox in the context of the crypto market is a solid idea, keep in mind that the rise in value of Sandbox and its token SAND is mostly dependent on whether the metaverse can continue to draw investors’ interest going forward into 2022. And also, whether Sandbox can keep its current position as more and more well-resourced startups and tech giants enter the space, such as Meta, Sony and Apple.