The Chinese Metaverse Stock Frenzy Gets Unreal

The metaverse will blend the virtual and physical worlds. Investors should be careful that the meta market frenzy doesn’t warp their sense of reality.

It’s difficult to find people who can clearly explain what exactly the metaverse will be—roughly, a shared immersive digital realm where people can shop, interact and play—but the concept has quickly become the hottest buzzword in the stock market. In China, the speculative craze has already caught the attention of the government. Chinese state-owned media has published a number of articles in recent weeks warning about the risks of jumping on the trend. On Thursday, the People’s Daily said investors should be careful about potential scams related to the metaverse or nonfungible tokens, a type of digital asset on the blockchain.