Plans for a metaverse version of the dating app Tinder may not continue for the rest of 2022. Match Group, the parent company, stopped investing in Web3 resources due to low earnings for the year’s second quarter. However, it is not yet official that Tinderverse will be “shelved”, but it will not be the company’s priority either.
The announcement came from Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg right after her official resignation.
Meanwhile, Match Group CEO Bernard Kim made an open letter to the investors saying that they will not focus on metaverse projects.
Tinder Matching on Metaverse: Forever Lost?
Technically, Tinderverse isn’t dead in the water yet, but the decision simultaneously happened after Nyborg stepped down as CEO. It’s just that if Match Group had better earnings since the beginning of 2022, they could have pushed through with the Tinder x metaverse project.
Unfortunately, they must cut costs and take a safer route rather than following the blockchain thread. Coinciding with the bear market, the Tinderverse may not be a good time to invest first.
After all, Kim also stated that the company is still waiting for the “appropriate time” to continue the project. Initially, Tinder Coins act as the digital currency, although that needed to halt first because of polarizing results based on their tests.
While the company did see a good 12% year-on-year profit to $795 million, impairments with the recent purchase of Hyperconnect led to a $10 million loss. Currently, Match Group stocks waned down to the $63.22 zone; an 11.39% loss since July 31, 2022.
Dating and Pleasure Entering the Metaverse
Lust and love have entered the metaverse with several companies joining the blockchain. Pornhub and Playboy have collaborated with The Sandbox to create adult NFTs and lands beside their meta locations.
Meanwhile, a sex-to-earn crypto project called SEXN brought in some… questionable ways to take profits while doing the naughty with a special someone (or their own, depending on the matter).
Nobody knows yet how this will truly work, even though the developers say it will include a pacer to “detect” sex performance (which users may potentially exploit it with other strenuous activities).
Supposedly, the Tinder metaverse would make matchmaking more secure than the app’s current state, but we will see that some other time soon. For now, 2022 does not look like the year for decentralized dating.
