Here's How Metaverse Tokens Marched On (While Meta Lost Big)
The metaverse landscape is a complex one, with fortunes rising and falling dramatically. While Mark Zuckerberg's Meta has recorded nearly $50 billion of metaverse losses in under five years, the story for metaverse tokens is more nuanced. The division's total loss of $47 billion exceeds the market value of Ford, highlighting the stark contrast between Meta's struggles and the potential within the broader metaverse ecosystem.
Major metaverse-focused projects such as Decentraland (MANA), The Sandbox (SAND), and Axie Infinity (AXS) rose sharply after Meta entered the scene. However, it's important to acknowledge that metaverse tokens have lost two-thirds of their value this year. Since Facebook rebranded to Meta, it's spent billions building its metaverse, Horizon Worlds, facing numerous challenges.
One key factor contributing to Meta's struggles is the slow progress of Horizon Worlds, coupled with the changing narrative around spatial computing. There are numerous causes, including Meta's slow progress, a crash in the non-fungible token (NFT) market, and Apple's positioning of the term spatial computing.
Despite the overall market downturn, including the challenges reported on Sept 2, 2025, regarding on-chain analysis explores the critical factors that have plunged 98% of metaverse token holders into losses in 2025 and at the market top in November 2025, buzzwords, evidence suggests that major players remain actively engaged. A Glassnode report shows that despite declining prices and fading hype in Metaverse tokens, on-chain data suggests that major investors remain active, steadily accumulating these digital assets.
The trajectory isn't solely negative. While major metaverse tokens fell sharply this week as Facebook owner Meta Platforms hit a road block in its plans for a virtual world, other factors, such as broader crypto market weakness also played a role. The performance of metaverse tokens isn’t directly tied to Meta's success or failure. Projects like Bullish, incubated by technology investor Block.one, and even those that have experienced recent losses as Meta (formerly Facebook) reported a $10 billion loss on its augmented and virtual reality efforts, demonstrate the enduring interest in decentralized metaverse experiences.
The metaverse is still under construction, and while Meta's path has been rocky, the underlying technology and vision continue to attract investment and innovation. The future of metaverse tokens hinges on their ability to deliver compelling experiences and utility, independent of any single company's success or setbacks.