Photo from Sandstorm Media Inc.
Originally Posted On: https://sandstorm.co/what-is-decentraland/
Decentraland is a blockchain-based metaverse platform. It offers people the opportunity of exploring its 3D virtual world for free. Also, artists who love to create impressions can put their imagination to full use on the platform.
Decentraland is one of the pioneer virtual worlds built on Ethereum. Ari Mellich and Esteban Ordano launched the platform in 2017 after two years of developing it.
During the initial coin offering and unveiling of Decentraland’s Genesis City, the project raised $26 million. So far, Decentraland has been at the forefront of the virtual real estate industry.
In this article, you will learn how to use Decentraland as a visitor and be a part of the in-game economy.
How it works
Decentraland opened its doors to the public in February 2020. Since then, anyone can visit the platform’s website and begin to explore the virtual world right away.
There is no app to download as it is a browser-based game. More so, Decentraland can only work on browsers of computer systems. In the meantime, smartphone users can submit their emails, so they will receive a notification once the platform begins to work on Android and iOS devices.
When you visit Decentraland’s website, click on “START EXPLORING,” and you will be redirected to the actual virtual space. You may connect a crypto wallet or continue playing as a visitor. If you intend to buy any item within the game or participate in contests, you must connect a wallet.
Before you can enter the virtual space, you need to create an avatar that will represent you. Avatars are 3D representations of humans exploring the metaverse. Decentraland allows you to customize the body, head, top, bottom, shoes, skins, and other avatar accessories.
Moreover, you can buy wearables for your avatar if you are not playing as a guest. While designing the avatar, be creative and avoid looks that might be offensive in a public space. Navigate the Virtual Space
Navigating the Virtual Space
Your journey in Decentraland begins at the Genesis Plaza. Here, you will see multiple avatars of other players like you. Decentraland’s floating mentor, Alice, provides needed guidance about the virtual space to ensure players don’t get confused.
The computer keyboard is what players can use to control their game character. Players can switch between the first and third-person views. Also, you can chat by typing or using the microphone to speak with other avatars.
Press C to restore the control reminders if you forget the keyboard controls.
Whether you are a guest avatar or not, you may decide to explore the vast public spaces in the world of Decentraland. Otherwise, you can use the platform’s builder tool to create digital artworks.
Furthermore, players can purchase LAND and estates and use them for profitable metaverse activities.
Decentraland Utility Token
MANA
MANA is a vital asset for Decentraland users. It is an ERC-20 token that facilitates all forms of trade on the platform. Also, users who buy MANA and stake it with Decentraland DAO can participate in the organization’s decision-making process.
Decentraland launched MANA along with the virtual world in 2017. At launch, MANA’s total supply was 2.8 billion tokens. However, Decentraland has the policy to burn a certain amount of the coin after LAND auctions.
Consequently, about 600 million MANA have been destroyed, reducing the total supply to 2.19 billion.
During this writing, 1.85 billion MANA tokens worth $1.7 billion (by market cap) are in circulation.
LAND
LAND is another vital asset on Decentraland. LANDs are non-fungible tokens that serve as a foundation to build virtual experiences and games.
Likewise, players who buy LANDs adjacent to one another can combine them into Estates. Accordingly, they will be able to utilize the LAND parcels more efficiently.
Decentraland contains a finite number of 90,601 LANDs. Currently, the minimum price of one parcel of LAND is 2.05 ETH ($3,000). Whereas, in 2017, each LAND was only worth about $20.
MANA is the currency that facilitates the purchase or exchange of blockchain assets on Decentraland. So, when buying a LAND, wearable, or other NFTs on the Decentraland marketplace, players will pay using MANA tokens.
LANDs and Estates are the major sources of income for players on Decentraland. LAND owners can earn by building games and charging avatars who come to play.
Also, you may build hotels or virtual houses and put them up for rent. Decentraland encourages a decentralized metaverse economy through MANA tokens.
Who governs Decentraland?
On February 17, 2020, Decentraland became a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Consequently, participants of the metaverse began to impact the platform’s decisions directly.
While the DAO has a Security Advisory Board, everyone who owns a LAND creates experiences or explores the virtual world is a member of the Decentraland DAO.
Through the DAO, players can make proposals about the platform’s policies, and other players can vote in support or against the opinion. Also, developers with creative ideas that can improve the quality of Decentraland can seek a grant from the DAO.
Soon, Decentraland plans to seek players’ votes on a few issues, including:
- Dates of future LAND auctions and how they will take place.
- Adding more features and protocol upgrades to LAND and Estates.
- The Size of marketplace fees and primary sale fees.
- Whether or not the platform should allocate grants to developers.
- Addition of new wearables to the ecosystem.
The voting system is always an open poll whereby players who own MANA and LANDs are the ones who can participate. Although everybody gets a say, a method is in place to determine how many votes a player’s asset can fetch him.
Decentraland and Sandstorm
Recently, Sandstorm received a $120,000 grant from Decentraland. This grant is part of Decentraland’s efforts to support startups that are focused on building a decentralized metaverse.
With the grant, Sandstorm aims to bring more web 3.0 builders on board the metaverse ecosystem.
Brands Entering Decentraland Metaverse
Decentraland gained good traction in the crypto and metaverse industry in recent years. More so, the game’s real estate economy has been stable.
In addition, multiple brands worldwide now own metaverse outlets on the platform. Fidelity Investments own a virtual experience known as The Fidelity Stack on Decentraland. Here, players can learn the basics of ETFs.
Similarly, Sotheby’s recently created a virtual auction house and a replica of its office in Decentraland. Furthermore, Adidas, Samsung, and Atari are some of the world-leading brands that have also appeared in Decentraland.
As an open-source metaverse, Decentraland is a leading stakeholder in the industry of decentralized virtual worlds that will soon reach its full potential.
