If someone sorts out the hot words nowadays, "Metaverse" definitely has a place.

This concept, born in the science fiction novel "Avalanche" in 1982, will become popular in 2021, not only triggering people's infinite imagination of the future virtual world, but also setting off wave after wave of climaxes in entertainment games, technology industry, capital market and other fields .

　　It is worth noting that the imaginary metaverse has not yet come, and all kinds of hype, bubbles, and scams under the banner of the metaverse have come uninvited.

One of the strange phenomena:

The Metaverse is a basket, you can put anything in it

　　A few days ago, a liquor company wanted to "build a drunken and beautiful 'yuan universe' belonging to the sauce-flavored series of liquors", which caused heated discussions.

What does baijiu have to do with the Metaverse?

Two things that "can't be hit by eight poles" are in the same frame, making netizens shout magic.

　　A reporter from Xinhua Daily Telegraph found that long before Baijiu, a group of companies that seemed to have nothing to do with Metaverse had entered the game. For example, well-known chain milk tea companies issued limited-edition Metaverse NFT blind boxes, and home cabinet companies established a Metaverse special group. Retail projects need to build Metaverse brand and marketing scenarios, the urban landscape design forum is called "Metaverse, Park Future", and so on.

　　When the tide comes, they rush up, and when the tide goes out, you know who is swimming naked.

"Trademark applications and other situations are the epitome of the current 'everything is possible in the universe', and some behaviors that are obviously rubbing the concept are difficult to last." said Lin Haihan, vice president of Shanghai Trademark and Brand Association, "Just like trademarks, registration is not used. It doesn't make any sense. It's only valuable if it's used and known to the market and consumers."

　　According to the company's data, in the past year, the number of Chinese enterprises applying for the "Metaverse" trademark has exceeded 10,000, involving more than 1,500 companies from all walks of life.

Specifically, technology, entertainment, and enterprise service companies are the main applicants, followed by retail, automobile, education, Internet of Things, and psychological consulting companies. Hard rubbing" marks are obvious.

　　Among them, the one with the largest number of applications for Metaverse trademarks is a trading company. 80% of the trademarks are related to the Metaverse, and the categories involved are also varied, including but not limited to Prada Metaverse, Louis Vuitton Metaverse, Lexus Metaverse, KFC Metaverse , Ele.me Metaverse, 100,000 Cold Jokes Metaverse, Haidilao Metaverse, etc.

The second strange phenomenon:

Light technology and heavy imagination, old things in new packaging

　　"Maybe we are more 'earth', others call themselves the metaverse, and we are still virtual reality." A top technology company is responsible for breaking the phenomenon of old wine in new bottles in the field of metaverse - no innovation in technology, no changes in products, only But change the name.

　　The reporter noticed that some companies want to create "metaverse space experience scenes", which are actually VR (virtual reality) exhibition halls and digital scenic spots that have been popular in the cultural tourism industry for many years; Idols; there are also companies that have come up with a "corporate metaverse" solution that results in the development of a production visualization platform.

　　According to the statistics of Tianyancha, more than 30 companies have directly put on new packaging by changing their names. The business scope is still the same, but the company names have been changed to "Metaverse Technology", "Metaverse Media" and "Metaverse Commerce".

　　Not only that, there are places where new ideas for investment promotion also take the initiative to put on "new hats" for the park.

"Companies are still those companies, mainly related to VR, games, artificial intelligence, etc. The original concepts are outdated, and it is more gimmicky to replace them with the Metaverse." A government staff member said.

　　"Compared with previous technological concepts, the Metaverse clearly values ​​the concept itself rather than the birth of some disruptive new technology." The interviewees analyzed that, on the one hand, it needs virtual reality, cloud computing, brain-computer interface, mobile communication A large number of basic technology upgrades and iterations require user volume and ecological environment support, but on the other hand, many participants do not value technology, and only use imagination and rhetoric to build a colorful future virtual world.

　　It is easy to imagine, easy to change the name, but there is no shortcut to achieve it.

At present, the overall development of the metaverse is in its infancy. The main reason is that the technology it uses is still at a low level. Only by breaking through the technical bottlenecks down-to-earth can the real metaverse come.

Strange phenomenon three:

The concept of speculation pulls stock prices, and the "metaverse" rises

　　Some people say that the "Metaverse" is like a fire in the stock market. As long as a listed company has a relationship with it, the stock price will soar immediately.

Are these companies really planning for the long-term, or are they capital games and conceptual hype that want to make quick money?

Many people in the industry also called out "it's very messy and can't see clearly".

　　Everything has to be "dipped", just to let the stock price "fly".

For example, a company that does art exhibitions has doubled its share price in just a few months since it started to mention the concept of "metaverse".

Recently, it has cooperated with the development of metaverse virtual buildings by virtue of its statement, and its stock price has risen by the limit for 2 consecutive trading days.

　　The reporter noticed that some listed companies received letters of concern from stock exchanges and were asked to explain "whether there is a situation where the concept of 'metaverse' is hot." Expressions such as "not yet realized sales revenue".

It is worth noting that despite the repeated attention of the stock exchange and the "uncertainty" of the future, the stock price is still "strong".

　　Using the concept to attract people's attention is precisely to cover up the panic about its own performance.

Some listed companies have issued multiple announcements in succession exposing their business risks, while others have had negative net profits for five consecutive years, just because they got on the Metaverse train, their stock prices rose.

This kind of "operation" that does not look at the company's performance and only takes off based on the concept has made many people call it "outrageous".

　　Experts interviewed said that it is necessary to be vigilant against investment bubbles under the banner of "metaverse". If financial investment is not supported by the real economy, it will easily become a castle in the air.

The fourth strange phenomenon:

Selling classes to stir up currency joy, staged a fancy "cutting leeks"

　　The Metaverse course with a total duration of about 2 hours sold for a high price of more than 3.6 million yuan. After publishing a few Metaverse books, they claimed to be able to "seize the investment opportunities in the Metaverse", "open the door to wealth", and even "air coins", "killing pigs", etc. Illegal and criminal activities under the banner of the Metaverse are engaged in black and gray production... The reporter's investigation found that when people were still thinking about what the Metaverse was, some liars had already sensed "business opportunities" and began to use their sickles to "cut leeks".

　　"There is an interesting phenomenon. The 'currency circle' that illegally speculated in the name of blockchain back then turned to the 'metaverse'." said Liu Bin, director of the Financial Shipping Research Office of the Shanghai Pudong Reform and Development Research Institute.

　　According to reports, after the People's Bank of China and other departments made it clear that virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities in September 2021, the "currency circle" updated the currency speculation routine, and organized roadshows, live broadcasts and other marketing activities in the name of Metaverse investment projects. In fact, it entices the audience to buy various forms of virtual currency such as game tokens.

　　A press agency showed reporters the paid-to-promote Metaverse virtual currency project, XX "is a completely community-owned decentralized virtual space Metaverse + NFT project, blockchain digital assets are confirmed, and Binance + is reviewed by the double chain. Huobi contract address..." Similar content is not uncommon online.

　　"There are many types of virtual currencies, each of which has its own risks. Some are 'air coins' without any credit basis and can be copied indefinitely, which is equivalent to 'killing pigs'." East China University of Political Science and Law Financial Supervision and Criminal Governance Mao Lingling, director of the research center, explained.

　　Concepts are not praised or criticized, but the proponents of concepts have motives.

Respondents said that the means are ever-changing, but the motive for cutting leeks remains the same.

Some speculators resorted to cheating, advocating the use of the Metaverse to get rich overnight. The purpose is to take advantage of people's curiosity and desire for wealth to fish in troubled waters and get "profit" from "fire".

(Reporters Dong Xue, Wang Moling, Cheng Siqi)