Since Facebook announced that its future lies in the construction of a virtual macro-environment, many people are predicting investing in the metaverse as one of the best investment avenues born from the application of blockchain technology.
Like who bought Bitcoin in 2009 or who mined a Bored Ape, the nouveau riche generated by the crypto world continue to be joined by people who saw in projects like Decentraland an opportunity, not only to explore the beginnings of the metaverse, but also to open a way to generate profitability in what many already coin as Virtual Real Estate.
In this article we will explore three ways to invest in these new virtual worlds as well as those metaverses in which to do so.
Ways to invest in the metaverse.
When talking about investing in the metaverse, the first idea that is always mentioned is that of acquiring virtual land with a view to obtaining a return on it in the form of rent or subsequent sale. Thus, we have seen sales of parcels at incredible prices, such as the one recorded in Decentraland for $2.4 million.
However, this is not the only way to bet economically in this field, as many of the projects behind the metaverses are financed through their own cryptocurrency, i.e., from tokens which, once acquired, provide their holders with different benefits with respect to the project (participation in decision-making, for example). These tokens coexist with other cryptocurrencies on exchange platforms such as Binance or Coinbase, so they have also become a vehicle for betting on the growth of the metaverse.
Finally, there is a third way of investing in the metaverse, which despite not involving a capital investment (buying land or tokens), is an alternative that can provide us with a way of future income: the learning to build spaces and experiences in a new environment, the metaverse, which promises to bring millions of people together and, at the rate at which space is developing, will not take long to do so. If you are interested in examples of advertising in the metaverse, read our dedicated article.
Now that we have seen the ways to invest in the metaverse, let’s see which ones we can invest in.
Metaverses in which to invest.
Decentraland.
Decentraland is, without a doubt, the metaverse that took on the greatest media prominence prior to the entry of Meta. Part of this is because its growth has gone hand in hand with crypto-art, with Decentraland being a metaverse with hundreds of NFT galleries.
If we seek to invest in Decentraland by buying one of its 90,601 plots, called LANDS, the minimum price we will have to pay for it in a marketplace like OpenSea is 4.47 ethers, or what is the same, 9,605€ according to the valuation as of today. This may seem a high price, however, seeing the interest of big brands to have spaces in this metaverse (without going any further, last January 7, Samsung premiered its experience in Decentraland), this virtual world can be a showcase for the companies from all sectors are fighting for a place in the market.
Regarding its cryptocurrency, MANA, after Facebook’s announcement, Decentraland’s valuation grew exorbitantly, which has ended up resulting in a sharp correction. At the moment, its price is slightly above $2 and its capitalization is $3,807,254,868.89.
Regarding the possibility of building for the Decentraland world, regardless of whether you have LAND or not, you will be able to build spaces through its platform, spaces that you can then sell to plot holders or, in case you have a space, include it in it.
The Sandbox.
Like art, another vertical that has channeled the popularization of blockchain technology is its application to gaming. Closely linked to this area, The Sandbox is presented as the metaverse of gaming (something like the Minigames made world). In it, thousands of users will be able to enjoy games and experiences while thousands of developers of this metaverse (game creators) profit from their creations, a model that already works in platforms such as Roblox.
This metaverse has more plots than Decentraland, a total of 166,464, which is one of the factors that makes the acquisition price of these plots somewhat lower, 3.4 ethers today. On the other hand, its gaming orientation does not dampen the interest of brands to be present in The Sandbox, with some like Atari announcing in style their presence in it, or celebrities like Snoop Dogg creating experiences around their personal brand.
With respect to its token, SAND, its performance has been very similar to that of MANA, now at $3 with a market cap of $2,770,575,699.64.
Finally, regarding the investment of time in The Sandbox, it has a game design program, The Sandbox Game Maker, through which to design spaces in this metaverse. Although this is somewhat more complex than decentraland, as you will not only build static spaces, but you can also define behaviors of various objects, the possibilities of creation soar.
Alternatives for investing in the metaverse.
While Decentraland and The Sandbox are those metaverses that, along with Meta and some existing ones such as Fortnite and Roblox, have garnered the most attention. There are a multitude of projects working in this space that could become major players in the future of virtual reality. That is why we invite you to explore some of them such as Wilder World, Star Atlas or Bloktopia.
