The metaverse. An idea of interlinked universes, assets owned by participants, and distributed ecosystems. Next up is none other than Cirque du Soleil, collaborating with The Sandbox. On the face of it, that seems like a match made in digital heaven. As someone who's spent years dissecting DeFi protocols and NFT architectures, I can't help but ask: are we witnessing a true revolution, or just another iteration of the same old centralized circus, now with added blockchain glitter?

Is This Really Decentralization?

The Sandbox touts "true ownership" via NFTs. Cirque du Soleil speaks of "immersive experiences." Marketing buzzwords aside, let's get real. Who controls the code? Who sets the rules?

We’ll have to take an in-depth look at the smart contracts that form the base of these Cirque du Soleil digital collectibles. Are they really controlled by unchangeable code, open to anyone to examine and audit? Are there back doors built into these assets? This would mean that The Sandbox or even Cirque du Soleil could change, freeze or remove them whenever they choose to. Because, folks, that's not ownership. That's digital feudalism.

Picture this—you buy an extraordinary piece of digital artwork that features one of our amazing Cirque acts. Now imagine the anguish when it goes away due to some corporate puppet master deciding it’s not right for their brand. The outrage! The injustice! This isn’t about art ownership, it’s the mythology of renting ownership of art.

Fifth, all this feels very familiar to me, like the early days of the internet. Along the way, we’ve been sold on this dream of a free and open web, this distributed network of information. Instead, what we received were walled gardens owned and operated by a few large technology firms. Are we now doomed to make the same blunder in the metaverse?

Can My Avatar Visit Other Worlds?

It's the holy grail of the metaverse. Will your Cirque du Soleil avatar, hours in the making and purchased with real money, be able to dance around in Decentraland? Can you freely sell your “Luzia”-inspired digital goods on OpenSea without legal issues?

The more probable scenario is that these assets will be locked to The Sandbox ecosystem. As Museums Association director Sharon Heal put it, "This isn’t a metaverse; it’s a digital theme park." A beautiful, ecologically sensitive, SW city theme park maybe, but theme park none the less.

Think about it like this: you can't use your Disney dollars at Universal Studios. The same principle applies here. It’s a closed ecosystem engineered to trap you inside of it, always consuming, always spending. This stands in stark contrast to the open, permissionless metaverse we were initially sold.

The Sandbox claims to empower creators. Cirque du Soleil is looking for new ways to broaden its narrative. What are the terms of engagement? Users are invited to create their own Cirque-inspired experience. Great! Who owns those creations? Are they really free to monetize their creations any way they want? Or does Cirque du Soleil continue to exert a degree of control over the intellectual property?

User Ownership Or Just a License?

This is where things get tricky. The devil is in the details of the licensing agreements. The important thing is to make sure creators have tools that help them stay in command of their work. This strategy cultivates an empowered, decentralized, collaborative ecosystem.

I’m taken back to the glorious heyday of YouTube. Creators ran to the platform, seduced by the siren’s call of fame and fortune. YouTube started to clamp down, altering their algorithms and randomly demonetizing videos left and right. Many creators felt betrayed, realizing they were merely building YouTube's empire, not their own. We need to take lessons from these past failures and make sure that the metaverse isn’t just a new space for exploitation.

Cirque du Soleil has been broadening minds and imaginations creatively for over 40 years. The potential to create awe and wonder is most certainly within your grasp! Are they serious about collaborating to empower users and create an open metaverse? Or is that only a great marketing tactic to make the most of the NFT boom soon?

It’s on us, the users of these platforms, to speak up and call for transparency, accountability and actual long-term ownership. Only then can we ensure that the metaverse doesn’t end up being a decentralized spectacle, but rather, something more than just another NFT circus.

Don't just blindly follow the hype. Question everything. Demand more. The future of the metaverse as a whole rests on it.

Don't just blindly follow the hype. Question everything. Demand more. The future of the metaverse depends on it.