Cryptos attract investors as these offer higher returns than those of conventional assets. Already, we have discussed three routes to invest in cryptos — ETFs, deposits, and SIPs. There are non-investment uses of cryptos, though it is a grey area legally.

There are individuals who freelance for foreign clients and accept payments in cryptos. There are two benefits — fast delivery and lower costs of transactions. There are no intermediaries in crypto payment networks.

There are online content creators and publishers. They run small portals. They have to receive ad money, small ticket transactions. They tend to use cryptos.

In travelling, people tend to use cryptos. There are a number of Bitcoin ATMs.

These uses are not favoured by the RBI. The transactions may violate the reporting framework for such-cross-border transactions.

There are simple games which one can play directly from the web browser. These games are HTML5 games. These are not different from other games. They denote just a language and technology difference. The recommended scripting language for HTML5 would be Typescript.

Playstation games have an issue of affordability. To play Android and iPhone games, one has to download a bulky app. In HTML5 games, you have to just click a link. These are not as complex as the games made on game engines like Unity or Unreal. AAA or AA games are expensive.

Amazon, Samsung, Sony website hosts games created by third party developers. These are plugin games. There are many HTML5 game engines, and one has to select the right one. Beginners use tools such as Gamemaker, Construct, G Develop. These are visual scripting tools. Professionals too can avail of scripting and code the game the way they desire. There are higher tools such as Phaser, BabylonJS, Cocos Creator.

HTML5 games have to get loaded quickly, say at sub-10 seconds load time. It calls for optimisation by being efficient in coding methods and by being good at texture compression, packaging, and art pipeline.

Content consumption on internet shows a distinct shift. As we are aware, in busy life, there are shorter attention spans. Therefore, consumers prefer content that is quick, short and snackable. Longer formats are not preferred. Besides, the content is curated by AI/ML. The users thus find it exciting to view it.

Short-form videos are between 15-seconds and 2 minutes, as compared to long-form videos (LFVs) which are more than 2 minutes long.

Videos can be made by users or professional creators. They could be pre-recorded or livestreamed.

In this space, we find a mix of social media and entertainment companies as well as local specialist platforms.

The video market has exploded of late. There are 640 million internet users and 550 million smart phone users. They spend 1.3 trillion hours online in India. Smart phone users too spend 4.8 hours on their devices, out of which an hour on an average is spent on consuming videos.

India’s exploding video market was first tapped by TikTok (known in China as Douyin). It had 200 million users and 20 million content creators posting at least one video on the platform. There were 2 billion mobile downloads of TikTok. (2020).

India banned the Chinese apps. Therefore, Indian apps tried to fill this space. One such app was Moj that was launched in 2020. It gave an opportunity to creators to showcase their talent and creativity. It was distributed through Google Playstore. To build the app, ShareChat provided lot of insights. A team of 70 engineers and product experts worked to build Moj. Moj has emerged as number one short video app with highest monthly active users.

Simultaneously, another video app MX TakaTak was launched in July 2020 by MX Media. These two companies — ShareChat and Mx Media, are merging to create the largest short video platform for Indians. These two platforms will now be controlled by ShareChat.

Josh too emerged as another indigenous video platform in 2020. It caters to both the urban and rural audiences.

Moj too is building live streaming capabilities. It will facilitate the monetisation for the creators. Chingari is another short video app from India. It has collaborated with multiple platforms for entertainment and engagement.

Short videos go viral. They garner million of followers. This follower base is monetised. There are brand collaborations here. There are opportunities for commerce.

Kid Clips appears on Netflix’s iOS app. It will show short videos from the existing library of children’s movies and programmes.

Kids clips will compete with TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.

Blockchain is a kind of shared database that differs from traditional databases in the way data is stored. Here blockchains store data in blocks that are then cryptographically linked together. As new information is received, it is entered into a new block. Once the block has been filled with data, it is chained into the previous block, forming a chronological chain of data. A blockchain can hold a variety of data, but the most widely used application has been as a transaction ledger. In short, blockchain is employed in a decentralised manner. There is no single person or group which has control over the system. All users have collective control. It offers transparency.

Quant funds attract investments on the basis of technology, AI/ML. Here the past data is the main input. In India, this idea was promoted by quantitative analysts to choose portfolio management services (PMS). Some PMS portfolios have given returns as high as 30 per cent (risk-adjusted) every year over a decade.

Quant funds attract a lot of scepticism, but they have got a toe-hold now in the Indian market. Quants were initiated in the West in early 1970s. They were viewed favourably in India in the mid-2000s. Indian investors relied on fundamental or technical research or punting. In the global financial crisis of 2008, no one talked about quant investing.

Quantitative trading in a new version reappeared after technological advances and enhanced computing power. The investment strategies are assisted by AI and ML to provide superior returns. The funds using these techniques are 29 per cent in 2019. Customers too are adopting these strategies.

Such strategies eliminate the inherent human biases. Over a period of time, technology chooses a better portfolio than the human beings. Quant investment is based on data, mathematical models and quantitive analysis. Data is used to create a primary screener (filter) or an algorithm. The stocks selected meet the criteria. The filtered stocks are backtested. It creates the best possible portfolio.

There are so many permutations and combinations to structure a 10-stock Nifty portfolio. An ideal Nifty portfolio cannot be created by fund managers during their lifetime. Using technology, one can create the ideal portfolio with stock weightages.

Still people feel quant strategies are risky, and there could be heavy losses if the market crashes. It is not true. There is an in-built risk management feature in quant modelling.

Data forms the basis of all quant strategies. Data is analysed to create screeners. Rules and algorithms are the backbone. It all depends on the quality of data. Fund managers keep this secret. However, most of them use pointers such as price and volume (PV), PE ratios, cash flows, return on equity, stock technicals, dividends, share-holding patterns, DE ratios. There are macro factors such as traffic, credit card spends, mobility, weather etc.

Access to quality data has enhanced the effectiveness of quant strategies.

AI/ML have been recently introduced, that too marginally. Broader market trends can be assessed. These complement quant strategies.

Quants have outperformed benchmarked indices by about 90 per cent over a period of time. The ideal portfolio may have 25-30 stocks of which 60 per cent beat broader markets over a period of time, 20-30 per cent yielding market-level returns and just 10 per cent underperforming benchmarks. You generate significant alpha if you get 60-70 per cent of portfolio right.

Metaverse enables people to transport themselves into spaces that they could not have experienced possibly in the real world. It is a new perception of the world in AR. It transports people into alternative realities. Real world has its own excitements. Metaverse promises something more — virtual meetings, the opportunity to try new products without leaving home, meeting unknown people, gaming, everything new. One can organise weddings, festival meets in the metaverse. These virtual spaces act as a platform to live a second life. There could be exhibitions, business meetings, hangout zones, shopping and conferences.

In game, the designs are set. A new level cannot be created. In metaverse, there are immense possibilities of creating life-like experiences.

Many companies have started working in this field — Meta, Epic Games, Nvidia and Microsoft. It is necessary to have world-wide open source standards formally. These standards will define the hardware, software, infrastructure or experience and other technical parameters.

Such virtual spaces must be made safe, say from sexual predators. Gaming too can be addictive. At times, the engagement here could be at the cost of tasks and responsibilities in the real world. At times, there is no distinction between a real person or an AI-assisted agent provocateur.

There would be a virtual economy in metaverse facilitated by digital currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). There could be patient counselling in VR both before and after surgery.

Today’s generation would treat metaverse as an extension of themselves.

Face book is working on AI to generate worlds through speech, improve how people chat through voice assistants and translate between languages. The key to unlocking a lot of these advances is AI.

Facebook is working on a new class of generative AI models that will allow people to describe a world, and generate aspects of it. Imagine you appear on an island, and give speech commands to create a beach and then to add clouds, trees and even a picnic blanket. It is an AI concept called Builder Bot. This technology will be further advanced . Then you will be able to create nuanced worlds to explore and share experiences with others. All this is through the voice.

Facebook is working on how conversations with voice assistants could be made more natural .It will be a step in the direction of people’s communication in metaverse. It will be neural model. It is called CAIRaoke.

Facebook is working on a universal speech translator. It wants speech-to-speech translations across all languages. Its former goal was translations of all written languages.

Metaverse will be as common as the internet is today a few years hence. Metaverse refers to online virtual universes. It will change the organisation culture and the future of work. Companies will have to be prepared for a different world — they should be metaverse ready by getting all their inventory into 3D and creating a 3D pipeline. Some big companies will create their own metaverse, and smaller companies will participate in the metaverse created by others. Metaverse will facilitate manufacturing — a plant can be located at one place, and skills at another place. A factory can be managed from a remote place. A surgeon can perform a surgery from a remote location. Metaverse is going to be a fusion of art and technology. It will evolve the relevant laws and regulations. The participants’ accountability will have to fixed.

Four years hence, say by 2026, almost 25 per cent people will spend at least one hour a day in metaverse for work, education, shopping, social and/or entertainment. Meta space is going to be remunerative as it is an inflection point for hyper growth. By 2024, Bloomberg Intelligence, estimates the metaverse marketing opportunity at about $800 billion. Indian investors see great opportunity in Web3.0, blockchain and metaverse.

Metaverse, as we know, is a collective term for shared online worlds where there is convergence of physical, augmented and virtual reality. It is a continuum spanning the spectrum of digitally enhanced worlds, realities and business models. Several companies such as Meta, Microsoft, Infosys, Roblox Corporation, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Epic Games and NVidia are investing in this space.

One Rare is making available platform to chefs and restaurants. PartyNite hosts events. They are in talk with several brands. Sequoia India invests in Web3.0. Cypher Capital has launched a blockchain fund. There is interest in KYC, telemedicine, edtech, real estate, manufacturing, diagnostics and more. The global metaverse opportunity is going to be as huge as $8 trillion (Goldman Sachs).