The concept of virtual reality is catching on and with the maturation of the cryptocurrencies, developers are leveraging the blockchain technology to create decentralized realities. Over the years, we’ve heard of numerous metaverses built on blockchain technology, which not only offers complete digital ownership of the virtual property but also opens up alleyways for generating revenue using decentralized smart contracts.
The focus of the world is moving towards work-from-home through the adaptation of virtual spaces and metaverses. One such virtual world, Decentraland, is an example of a virtual world whose users have leveraged the opportunity for their personal gains. From using digital real estate to create a virtual workspace to building entertainment hubs to secure the land as an investment opportunity, Decentraland truly revolutionized the concept of virtual reality.
Decentraland, which has already launched its beta mode, lets users take a peek at the virtual reality experience. At the same time, other blockchain-based metaverses are still in infancy mode and years away from becoming a reality. Decentraland’s virtual world has seen a soaring success with enthusiasts investing in the early in-game content and grabbing the limited Decentraland LAND parcels to immerse themselves in the virtual world.
Today’s round-up will include a detailed Decentraland review where we’ll discuss all the metaverse's distinctive features that set it apart from other virtual worlds built on the blockchain.
What is Decentraland?
Decentraland is a virtual world that is powered by the Ethereum blockchain. It is an immersive metaverse with the concept of dual-tokenomics which users can leverage to acquire digital real estate to develop and monetize it as they see fit. Decentraland offers a decentralized infrastructure to its players, enabling them to develop the land and control the in-game assets, policies, and development using Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).
The concept of a decentralized metaverse transfers the executive role to its player instead of a centralized company that benefits from the affairs taking place within the system. Using fungible and non-fungible tokens, Decentraland offers complete digital ownership to its users, enabling them to use their creative imagination to leverage the developing technology to build everything from innovative buildings to engaging mini-games within the metaverse.
Founded in 2015, Decentraland offers a 3D grid with a limited number of LAND parcels. The parcels are the in-game NFTs that can be customized, transferred, and utilized for monetary gains. Each parcel within the metaverse has its own unique coordinates for easily navigating through the gigantic metaverse.
Decentraland Tokenomics
Dual-token economies fuel the Decentraland economy, a medley of fungible MANA tokens and non-fungible LAND parcels. Leveraging blockchain technology, the Decentraland in-game economy has a limited supply which makes them valuable in the long-term investments plan.
Players who plan to get a piece of the virtual estate for themselves, it’s vital to understand the basic concepts of MANA and LAND parcels.
MANA token
MANA token is the fungible ERC-20 token that is burned to acquire LAND parcels or they can be traded to buy land on the massive 3D grid. These tokens have a limited supply of approx 2.20 billion tokens. The fungible nature of the MANA crypto tokens makes them interchangeable and since it is vital to the ecosystem of Decentraland, MANA is also used for utility purposes to purchase various digital assets within the gigantic metaverse.
LAND token
The LAND token is a non-fungible token built on the ERC-721 protocols which represent the 16mx16m parcels on the gigantic 3D grid of the metaverse. These LAND tokens aren’t interchangeable and are considered in-game NFTs since they can be traded on the marketplace for a profit.
There’s a limited supply of LAND tokens within the metaverse and approximately 90,601 LAND parcels are placed within the metaverse. Moreover, by acquiring the LAND parcels, players have control of digital ownership over the land. And with the builder tools available at the disposal, players are able to place 3D objects of certain dimensions on these parcels.
Decentraland Features
Decentraland boasts a wide array of features which makes it stand out from other virtual worlds on the market. With the use of blockchain technology to create an immersive metaverse, Decentraland hosts various decentralized characteristics which enable the players to experience the futuristic digital world in a true sense.
Decentraland Avatars
Every Decentraland player is required to create a unique avatar with distinctive features of their own choice. After selecting the gender, players can customize their avatar using the vast customization settings. Similarly, those with an acquired taste looking for something out of the ordinary can always browse the Decentraland marketplace to get hands-on sophisticated pieces of clothing for their avatar.
Decentraland Builder
Decentraland builder tools enable LAND parcel owners to place pre-rendered 3D tools on their land. There are tons of different terrains to choose from and thousands of utility objects which can be placed on the parcels for development purposes. Non-tech savvy people can use pre-built 3D objects free of cost and place them using the builder and employment tool.
Decentraland Marketplace
The Decentraland’s marketplace caters to the needs of all of its players by offering all the in-game essentials. Built on the Ethereum blockchain with the support of Polygon, players can browse the marketplace to sell, purchase, and trade supplies. For beginners, the marketplace is the spot where LAND plots can be acquired.
Decentraland DAO
By leveraging the democratized system of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), the developers of Decentraland are handing over the policy control to its players. Through this democratized voting system, holders of MANA, LAND parcels, and Estate holders get a final say in the policy-making and the development phase of Decentraland.
Decentraland virtual world is fairly simple to get into since it can be played through any web3-supported browser such as Google Chrome. Similarly, there’s a dedicated application for Windows as well where players can download the Beta version of the game to get started. Unfortunately, the developers have not announced any mobile version of Decentraland. A mobile application for the gigantic metaverse may be forthcoming, but there is no confirmation from the developer’s end.