When it comes to the metaverse, many people's minds are filled with a bunch of concepts, but at its core, it's all about one thing—how to establish a truly user-owned economic system in the virtual world. In this context, the role of NFTs is crucial.

From a functional perspective, NFTs solve three major issues of virtual assets: rights confirmation, trading, and monetization. The things you create in the metaverse, the equipment you purchase, or the properties you build all need something to prove they are yours—that's what NFTs do. Without this, virtual economies are just castles in the air.

But reality is in front of us, and there are several hurdles that can't be bypassed if this system is to truly take off.

**The most brain-burning part is the technology** — blockchain scalability remains an old problem, with slow transaction speeds and high gas fees that everyone can't stand. The immersive experience of VR/AR is also still lacking; comfort and user experience need further refinement. In short, the technological infrastructure hasn't yet caught up with the imagination.

**User experience is another major obstacle**. Currently, the threshold for using NFTs and playing in the metaverse is too high; non-technical users find it difficult to get started, and the costs are also high. To achieve large-scale adoption, ordinary people must be able to enter seamlessly and at low cost—that's essential.

**Regulation and governance are even more complex**. On one hand, innovation must be encouraged; on the other, scams, money laundering, and consumer protection issues must be guarded against. Finding the right balance is key.

**Ecosystem building is a long-term effort**. No matter how advanced the technology is, ultimately, it relies on developers, creators, and ordinary users working together to build content and economic ecosystems. This is an ongoing process.

From a broader perspective, the metaverse and NFTs represent the evolution of the internet from information flow to value flow, from two-dimensional to immersive experiences. In the short term, there may be bubbles and hype, but the underlying logic—digital ownership, immersive experience, user co-creation economy—these are powerful concepts. Ecosystem tokens like SAND and GALA essentially serve to validate the feasibility of this logic.

It is expected that in the next ten years or even longer, this direction will continue to iterate and evolve, gradually reshaping the form of the digital world.