In the second episode of Gen.T’s new podcast Up to Speed with UBS, co-founder and CEO of OliveX and creator of the DOSE token Keith Rumjahn talks about the metaverse’s tipping point and how to exercise for rewards (not just sweat)

The second episode of our new podcast Up to Speed with UBS, which delivers smart 10-minute business briefings on the ideas and trends shaping Asia’s future, is out. We speak to OliveX co-founder and CEO Keith Rumjahn, about his mission to make move-to-earn the primary mode of exercise in Asia and beyond. 

Rumjahn's DOSE (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins) tokens can be used to unlock items, purchase NFTs and participate in special game modes in his primary fitness metaverse, the Dustland.

Delivering unique user experiences through fitness gamification, we sat down with him to ask: where should you be buying digital land? What will fitness 4.0 look like?
And why the only thing holding you back when it comes to the metaverse is your imagination?

See also: Gen.T Launches New Podcast Up To Speed With UBS On March 29

In conversation with Gen.T’s Lee Williamson, Rumjahn also shares why Web3 isn’t here to take everyone’s lunch and how Asia is spawning a whole new generation of crypto natives.

Here are a few excerpts from the conversation. Click the audio player below to listen to the full episode.

ON DEFINING THE METAVERSE

“Everyone has a different interpretation of the metaverse, and it’s still early on, so no one really knows. But the fundamental thesis is that you have true digital ownership and the value is returned to the value creators. Essentially, the representation of this world is created by the people and owned by the people.”

THE MOVE-TO-EARN MODEL

“Play-to-earn is a new concept in the gaming industry. You actually get rewarded for playing a game because the cost of acquisition is so high. And what we're doing now is actually called move-to-earn as a subset of play-to-earn. You actually have to exercise to get rewarded.”

THE HEALTH METAVERSE ISN’T JUST FOR TECH BROS

“Health and fitness in the metaverse are still really early on. And you're right. It's mainly tech bros right now. But I think both are about to fundamentally change. Firstly, if you look at connected fitness, gamification is really taking off right now; Peloton has 6 million users. Swift, a cycling game has 4 million users, Ring Fit has 10 million users. This segment of gamification is growing really fast. Secondly, we're moving into mainstream adoption for crypto.”

YOU CAN’T PUT THE METAVERSE BACK IN THE BOTTLE

“The metaverse is about true digital ownership and decentralisation and being owned by the people: no one can shut it down. It's like the internet, you can't put it back in a bottle right?”

See also: Unspun's Walden Lam On Why The Sustainable Fashion Industry Is Just Getting Started

ON THE UNEXPECTED USES OF THE METAVERSE

“The uncensored library is a Minecraft foxhole where they put censored books in there, and no one can shut it down. I think that that's a really good example of the metaverse.”

ASIA AT THE FOREFRONT OF METAVERSE INNOVATION

“Innovation is coming from Asia. There are two segments. You have the more developed countries like Japan and Korea, where they had traditionally low yields. And a third of the white-collar workers went all-in on crypto. Then you also have countries like the Philippines, where they're really big in gaming. People actually play these games and earn a living, US$3 to US$10 a day. So you're going to have a whole generation of crypto natives who grew up with cryptocurrency. That’s going to spawn a whole new generation of innovation.” 

ON SWERVING THE FUTURE MYSPACE OF THE METAVERSE

“In the Web2 of thinking, Google and Facebook basically ate everyone's lunch; the winner takes all. In Web3, I don't think that's going to happen. The analogies are that there are going to be multiple countries; some countries are bigger, some countries are smaller. And if you look at Bitcoin’s Ethereum, so many chains have come up and said, ‘we're gonna be the Ethereum killer.’ But look at it today. There are many, many different chains, and there's room for everybody.”

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF IMAGINATION AND TIMING

“For me, everything is about timing. The PC created Microsoft and Apple, the internet created Google and Facebook, mobile created Instagram and WhatsApp. What is the metaverse going to create? We don't know yet and that's why it’s so exciting.”

Quotes are edited for clarity and brevity.

Listen to more episodes or subscribe via SpotifyApple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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