The "Metaverse" original creator is realizing his virtual world and Crypto Assets dream.

The American science fiction writer Neal Stephenson, hailed as the “father of the Metaverse,” created the term “Metaverse” in his classic science fiction novel Snow Crash published in 1992, a term that is now widely known. Surprisingly, he not only foresaw the birth of virtual worlds but also continuously depicted concepts in his subsequent works that are strikingly similar to today's Bitcoin, Blockchain, and large language models of artificial intelligence.

Science fiction writers become Builders

Stephenson recently founded Lamina1, aiming to provide a blockchain platform for the “economic track” of the future Metaverse. This system is designed to give creators sovereignty over their own rules and intellectual property rights, with the hope of reclaiming the open spirit of early Web1 and breaking free from the “walled garden” of Web2. Using Lamina1's gaming project “Artifact” as an example, he pointed out that the true value of Web3 lies in “the invisibility and security of technology,” rather than speculation. Only when blockchain becomes a natural extension of creation, rather than a tool for speculation, can it be considered truly successful.

The novelist who predicts the future

In The Diamond Age, Stephenson describes a network that values privacy and security from its inception, where people can safely transfer funds, almost foreshadowing the prototype of Bitcoin and modern encrypted transactions. The 1999 Cryptonomicon goes further to envision a digital currency backed by physical gold and based on public key cryptography. By 2011's Reamde, he explores the theme of virtual currencies in games interacting with the real economy, examining the close connection between virtual wealth and the real world. Notably, The Diamond Age also depicts an intelligence that can “learn and generate language,” which many later surprisingly regarded as a precursor prediction of large language models like ChatGPT.

Suspected to be one of the suspects of “Satoshi Nakamoto”.

Because Stephenson proposed concepts similar to Bitcoin very early in his works, including decentralization, cryptographic security, and digital sovereignty, some netizens even suspect that he might be one of the suspects of Satoshi Nakamoto. Although Stephenson has denied this multiple times, his profound understanding of cryptography and monetary systems keeps this legend alive.

The passion for the crypto world remains fervent.

Stephenson admits that he is still interested in cryptocurrencies, but also remains soberly critical of the current development of the industry. In an interview with Epicenter, he said: "Today we see all kinds of people, some of whom genuinely believe that they are making a constructive contribution to society and helping humanity free from the shackles of centralized institutions; But there are also many people who just want to make a profit from it. He believes that if a product or experience is designed with the sole goal of “making money”, the result is a failure. Instead, resist the temptation to immediately financialize everything and instead focus on the intangible value that people are creating.

From prophet to practitioner

Regardless of how the outside world interprets Neal Stephenson's motivation in building Metaverse games, it is undeniable that he is a pioneer in the intersection of technology culture and human imagination for the future. From the birth of the term “Metaverse” to the philosophical reflections on cryptocurrency and digital sovereignty, his works have not only inspired the tech industry but also continue to challenge our definitions of the boundaries between “virtual and reality.” What is most encouraging is that this science fiction giant, who once envisioned the future, chooses to participate personally. If Neal Stephenson still believes in the value of investing in cryptocurrency, maybe we have reason to believe again that Blockchain still holds the potential to change the world.

This article “Metaverse” original author is realizing his virtual world and cryptocurrency dream, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.