Profile: entrepreneur Ben Nolan and his Ethereum-powered metaverse

Ben Nolan is the founder of Cryptovoxels, and he’s a bit different from other crypto entrepreneurs. He’s interested in access and value rather than rapid growth, and he thinks that the power of community will be the true growth driver of the metaverse.

The “metaverse” is quickly becoming the new tech buzzword, thanks to Facebook’s rebrand to Meta. Many other cryptocurrency enthusiasts often mention Decentraland, a platform where users can buy and sell virtual land. The native cryptocurrency of Decentraland, MANA, exploded thanks to Facebook’s announcement. However, Decentraland is not the only metaverse platform around…there’s also Cryptovoxels.

Cryptovoxels is a user-owned virtual “world” powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Like many other metaverse entrepreneurs, Ben Nolan was inspired by the 1992 seminal novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, and knew that he eventually wanted to get involved with creating virtual worlds. Nolan also worked at Decentraland for some time, before focusing on Cryptovoxels.

What is Cryptovoxels?

Cryptovoxels is a virtual world, or metaverse, built on the Ethereum blockchain. It was launched in May 2018. Ben Nolan was previously involved in the virtual reality sector, and he previously worked on a project called SceneVR. Now, Ben Nolan is fully focused on Cryptovoxels. Users can build avatars, stores, galleries, show off their NFT collections, and also “socialize” in the metaverse. There are also Cryptovoxels wearables as well.

Users can build, develop, and sell parcels of land in Cryptovoxels, but the platform is about much more than just virtual land plots. The platform has also become known for its art galleries, notably featuring a Beeple museum called the B.20 museum. Users can host virtual events on the platform as well. The platform is meant to be a “sandbox” environment, where users can do whatever they like and there’s no specific goal to achieve necessarily. 

Given the recent metaverse craze, coupled with unprecedented interest in NFTs, Cryptovoxels is more popular than ever. Nolan wrote a post in August 2018 about minting the “100th parcel” in Cryptovoxels, but now, over 6,300 parcels have been minted. However, while many metaverse entrepreneurs are focused on raising money and scaling…Nolan thinks about the platform a bit differently.

Scaling a metaverse doesn’t have to be that serious

Ben Nolan knows how these metaverse platforms work, and he understands that many of these companies get funding, scale, and often look for a big exit. The goal is simple: pitch to investors, raise millions of dollars, scale, and then get acquired. Cryptovoxels was built by Nolan Consulting, Ben’s gaming development company, and he intends to keep the platform private.

One of the most interesting things about Nolan is how he received many different offers to raise capital but was adamant about maintaining creative freedom. He says that it “was cool to talk to” venture capital firms in the past, but that he has a better understanding of how to build a user-owned metaverse than they did. This strategy allowed the platform to grow in a more organic way than many other crypto startups at the time.

The platform only has a few employees, and Ben Nolan cares more about keeping the vision alive than growing quickly. He admits that a past Ethereum crash burned him, so the platform now sells “80 to 90 percent” of the Ethereum generated. This has given the platform “a couple of years of runway,” according to Nolan.

Community is what counts in the metaverse

One of the things that Ben Nolan keeps stressing about the metaverse is that it’s about community. While analysts are worrying about whether the metaverse will be worth trillions of dollars soon, Nolan is more focused on how people can benefit from Cryptovoxels.

One unique aspect of Cryptovoxels is that you can actually “see” your neighbors, which helps offer more of a sense of community than other metaverse platforms. It’s even led to good-natured “neighbor drama” on the platform. However, Nolan has more friendly ambitions.

Nolan stresses the idea of a metaverse where you can build a real community, and it doesn’t have to be based on an art gallery. When artist Josie Bellini pointed out that she heard people had been hired for real-life jobs through meeting in the Cryptovoxels metaverse, Nolan nods and agrees that this was the intent all along.

He elaborates that he hopes that people can build friendships and careers together in the metaverse, and share projects and art among themselves. Nolan himself is overwhelmed at the fact that Cryptovoxels has grown so much that he “doesn’t get to be a part of everything anymore.” Now, he admits, he can’t keep track of all of the building activity happening on Cryptovoxels. Obviously, that’s a good sign.

What does the future hold?

Will Cryptovoxels be the most popular metaverse platform, or the most dominant? Ben Nolan cares more about being the most accessible metaverse rather than being the most “dominant” one, and he also hopes that more metaverse platforms begin emerging. He has also expressed interest in creating ways for users to teleport from one metaverse to another, and believes interoperability is crucial.

Ben Nolan is also transparent about progress: you can find early Medium articles about introducing color into the Cryptovoxels metaverse from several years ago, and the platform keeps users updated regarding new developments and additions through Twitter. Many experts do wonder about Ben and whether he will ever give up control over the platform. Since Nolan’s company owns Cryptovoxels, it is technically not decentralized.

Ultimately, Ben feels like the Cryptovoxels metaverse has grown because of several decisions. First, he believes the decision to build on Ethereum was smart, considering how much the Ethereum ecosystem has grown since the platform was launched. Second, he also credits artists and NFTs as a large reason for the growth. 

For now, Nolan is focused on providing as much access and value as possible. In his own words: “My goal, for the project long-term, is to exist forever, and to be independent as long as we can.”