Golden Ark, a marijuana payments startup, has launched a metaverse-based payments system. It’s developed virtual cannabis as a cryptocurrency that supports real-life cannabis authentication and transactions.

Why should we care?
With marijuana legalization on a federal level seeming increasingly likely, we should expect more payments companies to develop relatively far-fetched strategies to drive user adoption and stickiness. That is, if marijuana is legalized, then customers will be able to use traditional payments tools like credit and debit cards to purchase marijuana. As a result, Golden Ark and others are looking for ways to make their services more attractive to marijuana users beyond the simple act of paying—and attractive to payments processors as well. "If we build a community, then there's no reason that mainstream payment processors shouldn't use our blockchain," said Jack Lau, Golden Ark's Chief Technology Officer. Granted, for this effort to succeed, the metaverse in general needs wider public adoption; for now, Golden Ark may see committed engagement among a tech-savvy subsection of marijuana consumers, and, depending on how deep the pockets are of these users, offering payments companies access to this niche demographic post-legalization.