Is Nokia really predicting the end of smartphones at the hands of the metaverse? Could Bitcoin really be worth one MILLION dollars one day? Crypto news, eh? Wild stuff.

It seems so, if you believe A) the legacy mobile phone telecoms company and B) Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood. In any case, it makes for head-turning headlines. Dialling into Nokia first, then…

 

Metaverse in, phones out – by 2030

Remember your first mobile phone? Mine was a Nokia, given to me by a fellow journo and promptly misplaced in a pub in Chatswood. A drunk in a North Sydney Bears jersey might still be in a corner with it to this day, figuring out how to play backgammon or Snake.

Anyway, Nokia, now controlled by Finnish brand HMD Global, is now reportedly crystal balling a decline in the use of mobile phones and the rise of a “6G”-powered metaverse.

Sound like long-held sour grapes/apples over losing its grip on the mobile phone market? Possibly, but let’s hear it out anyway.

As reported by Washington publication The Spokesman Review, the telecommunications giant sees the  metaverse, which is largely held to be blockchain-led technology, becoming humankind’s primary source of communication by the end of this decade.

Nokia reportedly concedes that mobile phones will still be a thing, but it has a firm belief that augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices will go some way to superseding current telecommunication devices, including smartphones.

“Our belief is that this device [the smartphone] will be overtaken by a metaverse experience in the second half of the decade,” said its chief strategy and technology officer Nishant Batra.

 

Human augmentation

Nokia has identified two slightly frightening-sounding concepts that could enable this shift – human augmentation and digital-physical fusion.

The former simply refers to the development and adoption of devices such as VR headsets and AR eyeglasses. And digital-physical fusion means the integration of real-world objects, systems and processes represented in the digital world.

Cryptoys is an example of a company that’s attempting to make strides in the realm of “phygital” technology.

“Widespread adoption of the technology from both corporations and consumers will be critical for it to really take off, and this will also depend on the availability of affordable, ergonomic wirelessly connected VR and AR devices,” added Batra.

And for the hundredth time, what is the metaverse again? Have a read on Stockhead here, and here.

All hype and no substance at this stage? It’s easy to believe that, and yet the amount of interest in the metaverse seems to have steadily progressed right on through the bear market.

Google, Microsoft, Meta, Epic Games, Warner Brothers, Walmart, Roblox, Nvidia… the list of huge brands, giant companies investing time, money and resources into this thing is only growing.

 

Cathie Wood predicts a $1 million Bitcoin (again)

Okay, this isn’t the first time Ark Invest CEO and famed tech-loving investor Cathie Wood’s made this particular call – a US$1 million Bitcoin (BTC) by 2030. She first revealed that little nugget in January this year, after doubling down on a previous prediction.

But she reiterated it this week on the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast, and explained a bit more about her reasoning.

In the past, Wood has cited institutional adoption as a primary force that will drive the BTC price up and to the right. While that’s still in her mind’s forefront, she has also been describing (much like Fidelity the other day) Bitcoin as an “insurance policy” for investors in the face of rising inflation.

“My background is both economics and finance. So I feel very confident in what I’m saying,” said Wood, adding:

“This is the first global private, meaning no government oversight, digital rules-based monetary system. When I’m explaining it like that I ask everyone to listen to each of those words, each one of them is very important. This is one of the most profound innovations of our time.”