Payment methods used for direct or indirect purchases in a metaverse in the U.S. 2022
PayPal was said to be the most used metaverse payment method in the United States, ahead of debit cards and cryptocurrency. This is according to a survey held by PayPal itself in late 2022, asking adult respondents on how they preferred to pay in the metaverse. The resulting figures include both direct item purchases - using PayPal to buy virtual clothing - or the conversion of real-world money into in-game currency such as Robux (Roblox), V-Bucks (Fortnite) or MANA (the cryptocurrency for Decentraland) that can then be used for in-game purchases. The source interpreted "metaverse" broadly, mostly associating it with virtual reality (VR) and online gaming. This has been common ever since Facebook rebranded itself into "Meta". Originally, though, "metaverse" stood for a new decentralized type of internet - called Web3 - that would be without company or government oversight. Cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin, itself a protest against central banks and governments), decentralized services (such as Decentralized Finance) and digital products (such as NFTs) would make up the brunt of this. This is relatively different from Roblux, Fortnite and VR - which all focus on creating new consumer experiences in a virtual gaming world.