Together Labs launches MetaJuice for NFT games and apps

Together Labs launched MetaJuice, a new division dedicated to powering blockchain tech for games and apps.

MetaJuice aims to unlock blockchain-driven markets that allow everyone to create, earn, own and shape the future of the metaverse, the universe of virtual worlds that are all interconnected, like in novels such as Snow Crash and Ready Player One. 

John Burris, president of MetaJuice and chief strategy officer of Together Labs, is talking about the new division at our GamesBeat Summit: Into the Metaverse 2 online event today. Together Labs owns IMVU, the social gathering place with a million daily active users.

Now MetaJuice will bring Redwood Together Labs’ VCoin, VCore, and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to market.

“You’ll see an acceleration of our NFT plans of VCore being put into the market,” Burris said. “We’re trying to move quickly.”

MetaJuice is launching these crypto-assets first in the IMVU metaverse application and soon in Together Labs’ new metaverse, WithMe.

IMVU was founded in 2004 and last raised money in 2008. The company has raised a total of $77 million, and it is working on a new social experience dubbed WithMe.

While these assets will launch first in the Together Labs’ platforms, the vision of MetaJuice is to empower users across all metaverse platforms to freely engage, earn and own assets. That means it will work with other companies.

“Together Labs’ has always been a pioneer in the metaverse. We will continue to lead the way with the introduction of our new blockchain entity and cutting edge digital currencies and NFTs,” said Daren Tsui, CEO of Together Labs, in a statement. “We will focus first on blockchain enabling our platforms and then take that experience to enable all users to seamlessly move and transact across worlds.”

The MetaJuice team is composed of successful entrepreneurs with blockchain, digital, gaming and content expertise. The MetaJuice team initially launched VCoin, a globally transferable digital currency, and announced VCore, an ERC-20
token designed to enable users to participate in shaping the future of the metaverse. Burris is speaking at 10:45 a.m. Pacific at our metaverse event.

“At its core, it is crypto-enabling the IMVU metaverse,” said Burris, in an interview with GamesBeat. “It’s unlocking the value of the metaverse. It could, in the future, crypto-enable other metaverses or game platforms. It plugs in this crypto -centric economy that is built on a digital currency like VCoin, NFTs and ownership, virtual goods.”VCore is an exchange-listed international-only token. VCore enables users to participate in the metaverse, whether that involves the economy, voting in the future, or otherwise. VCoin is a digital currency, an ERC-20 Ethereum-based token, that is used in the IMVU world and can be taken off the platform. Together Labs created VCoin after the Securities and Exchange Commission granted a “no-action” letter related to Together Labs’ digital currency.

There are differences between VCore and VCoin. VCore’s price floats based on the market, and it is not used in the U.S. or Canada. This exchange-listed token can appreciate in value or depreciate, and Burris said it is like participating in the future of the metaverse. If you hold the token, you could vote on projects. It can be used for minting and purchasing land and other NFTs on the platform. In the U.S., VCore would be considered more like a security, subject to securities laws where accredited investors would be able to buy or sell it. So that’s why it isn’t available in the U.S.

But VCoin is a “stable coin,” which can be used domestically. You can use VCoin in Together Labs’ properties like the IMVU social rooms network or convert it to U.S. dollars at fixed price. You can earn VCoin in IMVU by selling digital goods, like fashion items for virtual characters. You can then you a debit card to cash out VCoin or buy a coffee or pay your rent. VCoin can be used across multiple worlds, and convert it into other currencies, Burris said. But Together Labs takes precautions against money laundering by requiring some financial detail from its customers.

“It is a pretty safe environment for users,” Burris said.

MetaJuice is counting on the notion that companies won’t want to go through the intricacies of creating their own tokens, and so it is providing its service to customers to offload the tasks from them. The company hasn’t said how much it has raised by selling VCore yet.