Facebook (NASDAQ:) has been planning its foray into the metaverse for some time now — possibly even several years. But it’s only recently that its ambitious expansion plans have catapulted the concept into mainstream headlines across the globe. Name changeMeta’s parent company was the boldest and most ambitious declaration of intent that Meta could make. Major news media outlets were suddenly flooded with explanation articles while finance websites were abuzz with excitement over the new investment opportunities.

But, in the crypto space, there has been a more muted response. Since the decentralized version of the metaverse has been under development for several years, there have been no shortage of protests. Even worse, the tech giants’ cavalier attitude to user privacy and data harvesting has informed many of the most cherished principles in the blockchain and crypto sector.