Metaverse builder Improbable says most metaverse land is mispriced

Episode 96 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded remotely with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Improbable founders CEO Herman Narula & chief product officer Rob Whitehead.

Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on AppleSpotifyGoogle PodcastsStitcher or wherever you listen to podcasts. Email feedback and revision requests to [email protected].


In July, Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs partnered with Improbable — a British company building a network of virtual worlds — to bring to life Yuga’s metaverse project known as ‘Otherside.’

In this episode of The Scoop, Improbable’s founders CEO Herman Narula and chief product officer Rob Whitehead explain how they believe the metaverse creates value, and why developing entirely new experiences is crucial for success.

According to Narula, nothing 'metaverse'-related will be able to retain value without authentic engagement:

“I think what we're always forgetting is it doesn't matter if we're talking about the price of land, the price of an avatar skin, the price of any digital asset; if there's no underlying usage, if there's no underlying people actually doing something because it's fun and fulfilling, none of that can hold value.”

Instead of simply trying to recreate the physical world in digital form, Narula thinks metaverse experiences need to be entirely new:

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“Just porting over a PC or console game has almost never worked on mobile. I think metaverse experiences are like that: you've got to develop new stuff.”

“An ad as a billboard is trying to take the real world constraints and apply it to a virtual space,” Whitehead explains. “An ad could be teleporting you to a completely different experience…”

During this episode, Chaparro, Narula and Whitehead also discuss:

  • Why the market is overvaluing digital land
  • How crypto is more important to the metaverse than VR
  • The psychology behind creating engaging experiences

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron

About Tron
TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |


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About Authors

Davis Quinton is the Director of Podcasts at The Block and runs our flagship podcast called The Scoop, hosted by Frank Chaparro. Since joining The Block as an 'intern' in early 2022, he has worked closely with leaders across departments to translate The Block's written content into engaging multimedia formats. He holds a degree in Social Research & Public Policy from New York University in Abu Dhabi and is based in Sydney, Australia.
Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].