3D virtual reality platform Decentraland allows users to create and sell content. Based on the Ethereum blockchain, Decentraland aspires to create a user-owned network that offers an immersive experience. It's a shared metaverse where people can buy virtual land. In a metaverse, people can mingle, communicate, learn, and play. For the uninitiated, Decentraland is a decentralized virtual environment where people can explore their LAND, interact with constructions, and connect.
The major centralized companies now govern the network regulations and content flow as more individuals spend time in virtual worlds. In return, the creators and developers are underpaid. Decentraland solves this by providing a decentralized infrastructure where users can gather, share content, and play games while creators can profit from their work. Advertisers may showcase their businesses, artists can create virtual galleries for their work, and more.
In Decentraland, users interact with LAND. According to the whitepaper, LAND is a non-fungible digital asset (NFT) that people can buy and possess permanently. Owners of LAND can create dynamic scenarios, applications, and games on their LAND. Each LAND plot is an ERC-721 token and is 52 feet by 52 feet (16 meters by 16 meters). Plots are limited to 90,601 and can be purchased with MANA tokens.
The MANA token is Decentraland's in-game currency and the platform's cryptocurrency. MANA is an ERC-20 token used to buy, sell, and trade LAND in the virtual world. For sale on the Decentraland Marketplace are unique names and estates. Decentraland provides a full marketplace for trading and managing all on-chain assets.
To enter the virtual world, each user must create an avatar. Avatars can be customized with different body types, shoes, and accessories. In the virtual environment, you can engage with other users, go to casinos, listen to music, host parties, or just roam. The creators created Decentraland by stacking sceneries on top of one other. A scene is an experience and a mini-world where the players can walk between them.
According to the protocol's official white paper, there are three layers:
MANA is a major player in Decentraland and can be purchased on centralized exchanges including Binance, Coindesk, and Kraken. MANA allows players to buy and sell in-game things, including avatar costumes. Coinholders can additionally wrap their MANA (wMANA) and put it into a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) wallet to vote on the destiny of the virtual world. 1 MANA token = 1 vote
LAND owners have voting rights as well, but are not forced to convert or deposit their tokens into the DAO. The average price of LAND on Opensea ranges from $3,000 to $60,000. This is the highest recorded purchase on the platform to far, made by Republic, an American investment firm in July 2021.
Esteban Ordano and Ariel Meilich launched the Decentraland Foundation in 2015. Both have left the project but remain advisors. And the Decentraland Foundation owns and operates its website.
Among Decentraland's backers are George Burke, Fundamental Labs, Genesis One Capital, Fabric Ventures, Boost VC, Animoca Brands, and Digital Currency Group, which also owns CoinDesk.
In June 2021, Sotheby's inaugurated its first virtual gallery in Decentraland.
Jacobi initially gained approval for the fund in October 2021, intending to launch it in 2022. Nonetheless, the company chose to postpone its launch due to unfavorable conditions in other segments of the digital asset market.
At the Consensus conference hosted by CoinDesk, CEO Jenny Johnson made a thought-provoking statement that cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, were causing a 'distraction' from the vast array of benefits offered by blockchain technology.
In the crypto-sphere, Decentraland has grown to be the largest Metaverse since investors constructed and participated in it.