Bloktopia co-founder aspires to build a metaverse with 'hundreds of the best crypto projects'

Bloktopia is a virtual skyscraper in the Metaverse comprised of 21 levels to pay homage to the 21 million total maximum supply of Bitcoin (BTC). Owners of its BLOK tokens will be known as Bloktopians. Users will be able to buy and sell nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, purchase digital ad venues, own real estate, and more in the Bloktopia virtual reality. Meanwhile, Bloktopians can also earn revenue by selling or leasing virtual property in the skyrscraper to interested buyers.
Bloktopia in-game footage | Source: Bloktopia
The project, set to launch sometime next year, is built on the Polygon network, a layer 2 Ethereum (ETH) scaling and infrastructure development network. In addition, Elrond, a blockchain sharding protocol, is to become the anchor tenant in Bloktopia, with its virtual HQ being featured on level one, where all players spawn. During an exclusive AMA with Cointelegraph Markets Pro users on Discord, Bloktopia co-founder and CMO Paddy Carroll discussed the key aspects of its virtual ecosystem:
Cointelegraph Markets Pro: First of all, how do regular people access the Metaverse? Are special glasses required? How do you walk around and interact?
Paddy Carroll: We will make entering Bloktopia as accessible as possible. We are finalizing our roadmap and will be sharing it very shortly. We envisage a version with VR glasses and a downloadable version in time.
CT Markets Pro: In what stage is Bloktopia right now? What are the next steps?
PC: We are building Levels 1 and 6 and the auditorium. We will be holding some events in the near future. We hope to have a beta version of Bloktopia ready for March 2022.
CT Markets Pro: What is Polygon? Does the company effectively control Bloktopia?
PC: Surely people have heard of Polygon? If not, Polygon is a scaling solution that aims to provide multiple tools to improve the speed and reduce the cost and complexities of transactions on blockchain networks. We are building Bloktopia on it. It doesn’t control Bloktopia; more [to] facilitates transactions.
CT Markets Pro User: Also long back, 1) I entered in lucky winners for ReBlok’s Google form, No communication on that. 2) I am keeping my BLOKs to buy ReBlok on Level 1; I even selected a few from their maps that they released last month, but now this JOBE thing has taken over. I don’t know when the real land sale will happen. 3) I heard last month there will be a Bloktopia wallet, but still no wallet. I would love to have a communication on the above things if possible. Thanks.
PC: As you mentioned, we put a statement out on tokenomics, which I think you have acknowledged clarifying your first point. To cover the other questions, they all stem back to the fact that the Bloktopia NFT Land Sale Portal is still in development and not ready to be released yet. But I am hopeful this will be ready to go very, very soon. More to come, I promise.
CT Markets Pro User: Will there be other Bloktopia skyscrapers? Either geographic or time-based? How essential is VR to the experience? Who is the main target audience to start with? A centralized place in the Metaverse seems like an oxymoron. When did you realize that you were onto something?
PC: We have no plans for other skyscrapers at the moment. VR is part of our thinking but not mandatory. The main target audience is anyone with a vested interest in crypto. We love the decentralized nature of crypto and wouldn’t want to change it, but ultimately, it is fragmented and time-consuming; Bloktopia pulls everything together to make it easy. It doesn’t alter the decentralized nature of crypto. When we realized this was a big problem in the crypto world and started having several conversations with people who agreed, we realized that we were onto something.
CT Markets Pro User: Can you share more about the BlokPad? There are plenty of gaming launchpads and already a Metaverse pad too. So what’s unique about yours (other than it’s a reason for people to hold BLOK).
PC: Sure, this is our new launchpad, which we have just announced this week. We have plenty of reading material about BlokPad on our Medium. We are in a position where we have a Metaverse that will hold hundreds of the best crypto projects there are. We also have had one of the most successful IDOs [Initial Decentralized Exchange Offerings] that there has ever been. So projects are asking for our help, and we have a tried and tested formula. We are in a fortunate position where we can be selective and only choose the best projects in the marketplace. Then of course, we also now have another utility for BLOK, which is great.
CT Markets Pro: Is there an NFT marketplace within the Metaverse? Is that exclusive to Bloktopia, or can other projects create their own?
PC: Yes, there will be, it will be ready in the next couple of weeks, and more details will be shared then.
CT Markets Pro: Why do you think some NFT collections are worth U$ 10 million while most others are worthless?
PC: There is an argument to say that NFTs sales are a bubble that is waiting to burst. That’s not necessarily something I subscribe to, but I do see more value in NFTs with utilities.
CT Markets Pro: What are the current actual use cases for the Metaverse? For example, what is the difference between working with a Zoom window beside your screen?
PC: Well, you can’t have several immersive experiences at once in Zoom. You can’t interact with more than one person. The metaverse is a much more socially engaging tool. You can interact with people/ brands. Watch live or recorded content, including concerts or sporting events. Order food/ clothes. Customize your avatar. Have private rooms where you can hang out with friends. Or meet new people and share experiences/ learn. Plus, you can enter games and win things like free BLOK or even a Lamborghini. You can do anything that you can do in the real world and more but from the comfort of your own home.
CT Markets Pro: Understood, so the Metaverse is unlikely-looking to integrate with open source technology. And how Bloktopia expects to integrate, for example, NFT-based multiplayer online games from third parties?
PC: We are working through the possibilities of integrating other games; there are many questions about if we want to do that, and if so, what those games would be. But we do know that we can do it; it is possible. That’s the beauty of a virtual reality world.
CT Markets Pro: Is there a separate company/project to help businesses get up & running on Bloktopia? Such as a “Metaverse Developer”?
PC: We have BlokPad, which will help to launch new crypto projects. We also have an estate mgt team to help tenants with their space design, features, and basic navigation. So yes, we do offer this as part of the Bloktopia service.
CT Markets Pro: How can businesses and regular people generate income using Bloktopia? How much does one need to start?
PC: BLOK will act as a currency within Bloktopia, allowing people to purchase items within our world. BLOK will initially be used to purchase NFTs, sold for real estate and advertising space in Bloktopia, which both generate incomes from advertisers and rental fees. The higher the daily active users within Bloktopia, the more revenue generated from the big data produced and the impressions brands pay for when they advertise on the totems within Bloktopia and rent space. Meaning that all NFT’s within Bloktopia, whether ReBlok or AdBlok, generate revenue for the holders and the more typical asset appreciation.
CT Markets Pro: Is there some exclusivity to the BLOK token for products and services commercialized within Bloktopia?
PC: BLOK will be important in Bloktopia. Exclusivity is something in our minds for unlocking certain parts of the Metaverse.
CT Markets Pro: What programming and designing skills are necessary to create spaces and applications?
PC: We are currently building out Bloktopia in the Unity Engine. So if somebody wanted to get involved in the creation, further down the line, they would need to understand Unity design.
CT Markets Pro: There’s a token lock for those buying real estate on the pre-sale, so how exactly will newcomers develop their virtual lands and services?
PC: This is maybe two questions? Yes, if you bought tokens privately or in the IDO, there is a token lock; we will always release enough tokens to enable people to buy NFTs (REBLOK and ADBLOK). Newcomers would need to buy BLOK to get involved.
CT Markets Pro: When is the DAO governance be in place? Is there a protection mechanism from large holders such as exchanges, ETFs, or custodians?
PC: Tenants won’t form part of the DAO. The DAO will be made up of the NFT holders. So if you own a REBLOK in the Binance store, you are part of the DAO. Each REBLOK earns you 1 x vote. There are 50 per store.
CT Markets Pro: What is Animoca Brand’s relationship with Bloktopia? What can we expect from them?
PC: They are our lead investor. They are opening plenty of doors for us, so we really value their input.
CT Markets Pro User: Will there be a token burn in the future?
PC: We are currently planning something in this space. We are in a humbling and grateful position where our token price rose so much from our IDO that it has changed how we need to look at things slightly and replan. Burning tokens is a consideration, along with a few other options.
CT Markets Pro: So, where will the project go once the real estate on all 21 floors has been filled? I.e., will there be a similar skyscraper(s) built next to it and floors set for auction?
PC: I am pretty consumed at the moment with thinking about creating, filling, and operating 21 levels. Let’s get the skyscraper fully operational, and then we will see. The beauty of a Metaverse is that any restrictions don’t constrain us.
CT Markets Pro: Could you provide more color on the integration between Bloktopia and the Elrond blockchain?
PC: Well, we are delighted that Elrond is an anchor tenant on Level 1 of Bloktopia. We have announced a partnership and are exploring things with them, but I can confirm nothing at this stage. We’re pleased to have them on board, though, and see lots of potential for collaboration.
CT Markets Pro User: Could you please touch on when can we expect Bloktopia Wallet of its own? Thanks.
PC: It’s ready! It is literally just being tested. We don’t really need to put it live until the NFT Portal is prepared too, so we will thoroughly test both first and share our new products with the community.
CT Markets Pro User: One last quick suggestion paddy – Bloktopia Community management needs some improvements. It looks pretty rude and banning people for no reason. Even I got banned just for praising the project. Clearly, it is frustrating for holders. Would you please improve community communication which is not rude? Thanks.
PC:I try to keep tabs on the Telegram group as much as I can, but it is impossible to do that 24/7. We are aware that some of the moderators were a little overwhelmed with how fast our growth has taken over the group, and as such, we have taken steps to strengthen our team. Sorry if your experience so far hasn’t been great; we are working on this. I think maybe we need a Discord channel?
CT Markets Pro User: Hey Paddy! Can you go into any details about the partnership with MetaHero?
PC: Metahero is a tenant, they have got a prime spot in Bloktopia. They are currently briefing us on what they would like to get out of their virtual space, and we have some exciting plans.
CT Markets Pro User: Apologies if this has been covered already, but will Bloktopia be available on Oculus Quest?
PC: Yes, it will in time. More will become clear in our roadmap.
CT Markets Pro: So how will community management play out? Will it be more of a laissez-faire type of ecosystem where players/users do their own thing with little oversight?
PC: Bloktopia is only as good as what happens inside it. We don’t want to be restrictive, but security is top of our agenda, and as such, we will be monitoring for illegal activity. That will absolutely not be allowed.