The Possibilities of a Human-centric Metaverse with Jimi Daodu – Step into the Metaverse Podcast: EP09
The Possibilities of a Human-centric Metaverse with Jimi Daodu – Step into the Metaverse Podcast: EP09
In this episode of the Step into the Metaverse Podcast, I interviewed Jimi Daodu, the founder of Vault Hill, an extended reality (XR) blockchain-based metaverse designed to make you feel more you. Jimi has a strong focus on the open metaverse and is passionate about building a human-centric metaverse. Prior to Vault Hill, he ran a number of successful transformation and digital change programs, including a divestment between Barclays Bank Plc and Absa.
Jimi will graciously share his wealth of expertise around the open metaverse, the importance of blockchain for the immersive internet, self-sovereign identities, the importance of data ownership, and what role decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) will play in the metaverse. This is one episode you will not want to miss. Enjoy!
Highlights
- [01:15] - How his company is bringing real-life experiences into the metaverse.
- [05:09] - Launching their NFT marketplace and virtual land public sale.
- [06:58] - Core characteristics of the metaverse beyond being decentralized.
- [08:01] - Mistakes we made in Web 2.0 that we should avoid when building Web 3.0.
- [10:21] - The importance of self-sovereign identity (SSI) for the metaverse.
- [15:27] - Safeguarding repetition through DAOs.
- [19:38] - Vault Hill City’s business models and the metaverse spaces they’re competing with.
- [24:36] - How decentralised computing, storage and bandwidth will affect the metaverse.
Quotes
“A metaverse should have the ability to be immersive and have the functionality of being decentralized” - Jimi Daodu
“If I have an avatar with a digital Rolex or Nike wearable, I shouldn’t just be limited in the virtual world of Vaulthill. I should be able to go to SandBox with that. I should be able to go to Decentraland with that and still look cool” - Jimi Daodu
“We need to look at how to use DAOs as governance mechanisms around compliance, security, and safety” - Jimi Daodu
“Just like how we’re thinking of innovating, cyber criminals are thinking of malicious ways of counter-innovating” - Jimi Daodu
“I think the important thing to highlight is how you look at spinning up funds around research and development to future proof the metaverse space” - Jimi Daodu
Learn More About Jimi Daodu in the Links Below:
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimi-daodu-46918734/
- Website - https://www.vaulthill.io/
If you are interested in learning more about the metaverse, you can order my book Step into the Metaverse here.
Frequently asked questions
What is Vault Hill and who founded it?
Vault Hill is an extended reality (XR) blockchain-based metaverse designed to make users feel more like themselves. It was founded by Jimi Daodu, who focuses on building an open, human-centric metaverse and previously ran transformation and digital change programs, including a divestment between Barclays Bank Plc and Absa.
Link to this questionWhy is self-sovereign identity important in the metaverse?
Self-sovereign identity matters because it gives individuals control over their own digital identity within immersive environments. Jimi Daodu highlights it as a core topic for building a human-centric metaverse, emphasizing that data ownership and identity control should rest with users rather than platforms, avoiding mistakes made during Web 2.0.
Link to this questionWhat role can DAOs play in the metaverse?
Decentralized autonomous organizations can serve as governance mechanisms addressing compliance, security, and safety within the metaverse. Jimi Daodu explains that DAOs help safeguard against repetition of past mistakes and can be used to manage funds for research and development aimed at future-proofing the metaverse space against evolving threats.
Link to this questionWhy should digital items work across different metaverse platforms?
Digital items should be interoperable so that an avatar's belongings, like a digital Rolex or Nike wearable, aren't confined to one virtual world. Jimi Daodu argues that users should be able to carry such items from Vault Hill into other spaces like Sandbox or Decentraland and still retain their look and value, reflecting a core characteristic of an open, decentralized metaverse.
Link to this question
Dr. Mark van Rijmenam
Dr. Mark van Rijmenam is The Digital Speaker, a world-leading futurist and global AI keynote speaker who helps leaders decide what AI, and the technologies that follow it, mean for their business. He speaks to leadership teams at their retreats and to conference audiences worldwide, and his WAVE framework gives them a way of deciding that they keep using long after he has left the room. His Intelligence Age Scorecard measures how ready an organization is across the four WAVE pillars.
He holds a PhD from the University of Technology Sydney, is a Certified Speaking Professional and Global Speaking Fellow, and ranks among the world’s top futurists on the Global Gurus list (#1 in 2025, #3 in 2026). Salesforce named him one of its 16 leading AI voices. He has written six books, most recently Now What? How to Ride the Tsunami of Change, writes the Synthetic Minds newsletter on Substack, and founded Futurwise. Talk to his digital twin on WhatsApp: +1 (830) 463-6967.
