Pioneer

The idea that people are willing to pay to temporarily occupy virtual land is curious in itself, but even more interesting is what it says about the trajectory of these blockchain-powered domains and the social dynamics inside them. Implicit in this arrangement is the formation of a new “winner-takes-all” class system, says Philip Rosedale, creator of the 3D online world Second Life, which pioneered the concept of virtual real estate in the early 2000s. The landed gentry sit atop the social pyramid, and below them are the professionals and tenants—the latter precluded by price from climbing the property ladder themselves. Because there is no ongoing cost of ownership for virtual landowners, Rosedale says, there will be an “inexorable” and “destructive” consolidation of wealth in the hands of a minority.