Metaverse, NFT, Blockchain are now buzzword but there is still little understanding. We have discussed with Jimi Daodu, the founder and CEO of Vault Hill an innovative startup. Their work? Creating “the first extended reality blockchain-based metaverse”,
Curious to know? Let’s ask Jimi, a changemaker and innovator.
Jimi’s profile as the founder and CEO
As the Founder and CEO of Vault Hill, Jimi Daodu is the brain behind the world’s first human-centric metaverse. The extended reality blockchain-based metaverse is designed to enhance human experiences – redefining user experiences whilst leveraging the power of blockchain technology and cloud computing that creates value for developers and investors.
Jimi’s web3 and crypto ambitions have seen him create something truly incredible, and his experience both as a founder and certified blockchain architect and NFT expert imbues him with a wealth of NFT knowledge backed by lived experience.
Jimi holds a BSc in Computer Science from Babcock University, an MSc in Advanced Computing from the University of Bristol, and an MBA (in view) at the University of Warwick. Asides from being Vault Hill’s CEO, he is also a board member at Fodds Capital, a Venture Capitalist (VC) supporting small and medium-sized businesses in Africa.
Metaverse, Blockchain, and NFT are now everywhere, but few people can understand them properly. Could you explain us a bit?
Absolutely! First, the metaverse is a shared virtual space. It’s like Twitter, but in a gamified environment leveraging augmented reality and virtual reality, which allows for richer immersive experiences than existing web2 services such as Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, etc.
In a metaverse, you have to create a digital representation of yourself called an avatar, which allows you to navigate the digital world since you can’t go into it with your physical body. As we can already see, different metaverses are springing up, and the adoption rate is increasing.
The metaverse is built on blockchain technology, and it is this technology that ensures the smooth functioning and activities of the metaverse ecosystem, such as the purchases and trades using the native or other cryptocurrencies within the metaverse, as well as the creation and acquisition of digital assets in the form of NFTs like virtual land.
Hence, the metaverse and blockchain are not isolated concepts because of the many features and functions that complement each other. So, Blockchain can be referred to as a decentralised record holder, where all crypto transactions are registered and secured with a smart lock. The adoption of blockchain technology has accelerated over the years, disrupting almost all sectors, be it real estate, entertainment, education, and financial services industries.
With Blockchain and NFTs currently being among the most popular topics globally, it is crucial to explore and understand these two concepts. NFTs are digital assets that represent real-world objects such as art, music, in-game items and videos. Simply put, they are tokens that live on a blockchain and can be used to prove ownership of connected digital assets. Smart contracts, are a key component of blockchain technology that strengthens security, and ensures transparency and authenticity of NFTs.
The metaverse seems to be the evolution of the internet and social. Could you explain to us a bit more?
The metaverse is definitely the next wave of the web and social interactions, and it is awesome to see how people are increasingly embracing the concept. The metaverse extends toward every aspect of our life. It’s a virtual circle where you can meet new people, play some games, expand your network, build a community, and create and trade digital assets for financial incentives.
Bill Gates was recently quoted saying very soon, meetings will be held in the metaverse, and this is not far from the truth. For those of us on the metaverse development side, it is important that we prioritise creating a virtual world that enhances human experiences, and is also easy to navigate which is what we are doing at Vault Hill.
If people will spend a significant amount of time in the metaverse, it is important that we create a virtual world where they can be their authentic selves, enhance their reality, and achieve what they might have been limited by in their physical environment. The aforementioned features of an ‘ideal’ virtual world to us at Vault Hill, shapes the core of what we’re creating in our metaverse – a first of its kind human-centric metaverse where users can interact and build a community, trade in our marketplace, acquire digital assets like $VHC token and virtual land and customise their avatars.
Through the seven human-themed districts we created namely – Play, Vitality, Romance, Community, Idealism, Curiosity, and Imagination, users will be able to explore and enhance these instincts that define their humanity.
Vault Hill story, mission and market proposition.
Vault Hill’s story is one that amazes even me as the founder. It’s incredible to see how far we’ve progressed in just a year. We officially registered the company on 20th May 2021 and we officially turn one today (as at the time of this interview). We started off with a team of 5, and today, we are more than 35. It’s been an amazing journey from resourcing, hiring, fundraising, bootstrapping, token generation events, land sales, and revenue-generating.
Our mission remains the creation of a constructive metaverse that focuses on the basic human instincts which allow users, content creators, and developers to explore their unrestricted creative freedom whilst monetising their creation in a secure ecosystem.
We’re relentless in our goal to build a thriving creator economy, an exciting virtual world where users can be their authentic selves, ensure healthy ROI on the digital assets we’ve created, and also ensure our one-stop-shop NFT marketplace thrives and remains competitive.
How do you see the evolution of Vault Hill and the broader market?
All hands are on deck to launch Vault Hill City, which is our metaverse, soon. This is definitely something to watch out for, but in the meantime, we cannot wait to share the early access into our metaverse with some of you on July 22, 2022.
As earlier mentioned, the acceptance of web3, particularly the metaverse, is increasing at a really fast pace, and this is just a tip of what’s to come in two-four years. When we look back at two years ago, the buzz about metaverse, blockchain and NFTs wasn’t this much. Then, we started Vault Hill and shortly after, Facebook rebranded itself to ‘Meta’ and boom!! The attention towards the concept of the metaverse increased significantly.
The next couple of years will really be interesting for every player in the industry and the world at large.
Internet is the already the 7th largest polluter in the world. How would you ensure sustainability?
we are committed to sustainability and we are offsetting the carbon emissions of our platform. It is important to stress the importance of ensuring sustainability in the ecosystem we operate in, especially in terms of how we mint NFTs, what we’re building, and how we generally ensure we’re building a sustainable ecosystem. You can learn more about our carbon offsetting partnership follwing the link on the image.
Your final message to the readers
Web3 is here to stay and it will even be bigger than what we imagine. Read up on Vault Hill to know more about the amazing world we’re building and be a part of our community.