Roles of Blockchain in the Metaverse: Concepts, Taxonomy, Recent Advances, Enabling Technologies, and Open Research Issues

The Metaverse platform offers 3D immersive experiences through virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technologies. Blockchain-based Metaverse has garnered recent interest due to its decentralization, anonymity, and other security features. Integrating blockchain into Metaverse promotes the formation of a shared ecosystem and provides digital asset tracking, privacy protection, and security in both virtual and physical environments. This paper explores the role of blockchain in creating and managing the Metaverse platform. It is intended to provide a helpful reference for researchers and practitioners in the field of the blockchain-based Metaverse. The main topics covered include the concept and characteristics of the Metaverse; its different use cases, architectures, and technologies; Metaverse as a service provider; Metaverse management; Metaverse users and data; and blockchain-based Metaverse in terms of roles, technologies, applications, and challenges. In addition, recent advances in the blockchain-based Metaverse and challenges such as scalability, interoperability, and edge resource sharing will be discussed. The paper will conclude by highlighting open research issues and future directions, including improving immersion, scalability, security, and integration with existing systems.