Winklevoss Twins vs. Zuckerberg (Part II)

For the past seven years, the Winklevoss twins have been funding Gemini – one of the top crypto exchanges – out of their own pockets. Recently, that changed when they raised $400M for the parent company of Gemini, Gemini Space Station. They are expected to retain 75% of the company and nearly double their net worth to $10B. A month ago, Facebook rebranded to Meta, and has said they are setting their focus on building out the metaverse. There isn’t a clear definition of what the metaverse is, but the general idea is that it will offer a digital world, like a video game, wherein operations will be fully compatible with other digital worlds. Presently, users are restricted from taking items from one game to another, but in the metaverse, everything would be compatible.

Controversy exists with regard to the means by which Zuckerberg intends to construct the metaverse. In the world of crypto, where the Winklevoss twins live, the metaverse is meant to be open and available for anyone to build on, allowing seamless transitions between different apps. Zuckerberg’s vision, however, entails placing the metaverse within the walled garden in which other Facebook games reside. Meta is largely focusing their efforts on virtual reality, committing $2B to their subsidiary Oculus, which makes VR headsets.