Does the current hype around the metaverse have you wanting to learn how to buy virtual land? Are visions of Ready Player One coming to life moving you to become a digital real estate mogul? You’re certainly not alone, and you’re in the right place!
This guide will cover the basics of metaverse land: who makes it, what it’s for, and how you can buy some of your own.
What is metaverse land?
If you need an in-depth primer on the metaverse as a whole, definitely check out our guide on the topic. To sum it up simply though, the metaverse is a term largely referring to 3D virtual online environments. While the concept has been around for decades, the metaverse has become a buzzy term over the past several months as more and more platforms and projects building metaverses pop up.
When we talk about Metaverse land, we’re referring to virtual parcels or plots of land in a given metaverse. These plots are generally represented by NFTs. In other words, metaverse land NFTs are how ownership of metaverse land is recorded and transferred.
At present metaverse land, NFTs usually correspond to virtual spaces within a metaverse or blockchain game.
Why Digital Real Estate Could Be A Good Investment
Like any potential investment, digital real estate comes with a level of risk. Not to mention the volatility of crypto and NFTs in general. So it’s definitely important to restate the obvious – namely that you should never invest in anything in the crypto space without first doing your own significant research.
With that said, given the numbers of people buying land in the metaverse, digital real estate has seen increasing values over recent months. As a matter of fact, metaverse land saw quite a rise in popularity at the end of last year following the rebranding of social media giant Facebook to ‘Meta‘.
Indeed, metaverse land in major platforms has become increasingly difficult to buy. While the metaverse can be infinite in theory, platforms tend to limit the amounts of land they have available. As more people get interested in buying land in the metaverse, this of course causes the price to soar.
Digital real estate investors are betting on the future of the metaverse
In essence, this is why so many people are betting big on the metaverse as of late. They believe that mainstream adoption is just a matter of time and so are looking to have a large portfolio of digital real estate before that happens.
Of course, the best reason to buy land in the metaverse is not just to hold it in hopes of flipping it later, but to put it to use! The opportunities to build on digital land are endless, and many NFT projects, as well as individuals, have started to build out expansive worlds on existing metaverse platforms.
At the same time, just because you want to know how to buy land in the metaverse, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re interested in building it out yourself! Unsurprisingly, there is also a market for renting out digital real estate! This option can mean that landowners can earn additional revenue without actually having to sell their plots in the metaverse.
Which Metaverse is best for digital land plots?
The leading open-world metaverses
While different metaverses cater to different things and have different strengths, there are a few that have set themselves apart at this stage.
Decentraland
Decentraland is the number one metaverse when ranking by all-time trade volume on OpenSea. As its name suggests, Decentraland is a fully decentralized, community-owned metaverse on the Ethereum blockchain.
At the time of writing, there are over 97,000 parcels of LAND in Decentraland, with each parcel representing an area of 16 square meters. Decentraland also has its own native token MANA, which you can use to buy LAND and other items in the Decentraland metaverse, as well as for participating in the governance of Decentraland. You can of course also buy Decentraland real estate with ETH. There are currently about 7,000 unique wallets that hold Decentraland parcels.
With a reported monthly user count of over 300,000, Decentraland is certainly one of the most popular metaverses out there. And with a floor price of 2.69 ETH on OpenSea, there are still plenty of opportunities to buy land in that metaverse.
The Sandbox
While The Sandbox has a lower all-time trade volume than Decentraland, it’s hard to put the hugely popular Ethereum metaverse behind its closest competitor. After all, with nearly 110,000 parcels at the time of writing, and more than 20,000 unique wallets holding LAND in The Sandbox, it has a very formidable userbase of its own.
Like Decentraland, The Sandbox has its own currency and governance token, SAND. SAND can be used to buy LAND and items in The Sandbox, as well as staked for passive income rewards. The current floor for LAND in The Sandbox is at 1.7 ETH, which along with a higher supply overall, makes it just slightly more accessible to buy than Decentraland.
Cryptovoxels
Cryptovoxels is smaller than the previous two metaverses, with just over 7,000 parcels and about 2,300 landowners. This voxel-based metaverse has an aesthetic that will be familiar to Minecraft players. Cryptovoxels parcels have a current floor price of 1.18 ETH, making them the most affordable major Ethereum metaverse at the moment.
NFT Worlds
Newest to the bunch but riding a huge wave of interest is NFT Worlds. Also on Ethereum, this collection of 10,000 digital worlds has taken the metaverse space by storm. Not only can each world be turned into whatever the holder wishes, but the worlds are also fully decentralized and Minecraft compatible, with multiplayer capabilities.
NFT Worlds saw a massive spike in interest this year. As a matter of fact, its floor price actually flipped that of the Mutant Ape Yacht Club at one point. Although the metaverse has seen its price decrease since then, it still comes in at a whopping 9.4 ETH. Easily the most of the major Ethereum metaverses at the moment.
Major blockchain game metaverses
As previously mentioned, there is also digital real estate to be found in a number of blockchain games. Projects like My Neighbor Alice, CryptoBlades and Aavegotchi all boast their own metaverses. Illuvium is another massive gaming metaverse that is gaining in popularity.
On the subject of gaming metaverses, one as yet unreleased metaverse that deserves a mention is Yuga Labs’ upcoming, Otherside. This metaverse MMORPG from the Bored Ape creators promises to be an open metaverse compatible with all kinds of NFTs, not just those in the Yuga ecosystem.
Given the success of everything Yuga Labs has done so far, you won’t find many people betting against Otherside’s initial land sale being a huge success. It’s meant to launch in April so be sure to stay tuned on that one.
How Do I invest in Metaverse Land?
Investing in metaverse land is pretty straightforward these days. As with most NFTs, there is an active secondary market for digital estate on major NFT marketplaces. Buying metaverse land is as simple as loading up a wallet with funds and connecting to OpenSea.
Some metaverses also host special land sale auctions from time, giving buyers a chance to get digital land parcels. These sales tend to sell out pretty quickly, especially when the parcels are in proximity to parcels belonging to celebrities or other major brands.
Besides OpenSea, both The Sandbox and Decentraland have marketplaces of their own. There, users can buy everything from avatars, wearables, and other metaverse items, to parcels themselves.
Given the surging interest in digital real estate, there are even metaverse real estate firms beginning to pop up. If you’re unsure of how to buy land in the metaverse yourself, these could turn into great options.
For example, there’s Metaverse Property, which claims the distinction of being the first-ever digital real estate company. In a similar vein is the platform SuperWorld, which allows people to buy and sell digital real estate. Significantly, the platform also gives buyers a stake in SuperWorld, allowing them to share in revenue created on their virtual land.
Who’s Bought Land In The Metaverse so far
As with NFTs in general, countless celebrities have bought into the metaverse. Snoop Dogg might be the most famous example. The superstar musician and NFT aficionado has an ongoing partnership with The Sandbox. Other big names that have found homes in The Sandbox include DJ Steve Aoki and heavy metal band Slipknot,
Then there are also a number of big names who recently invested in Yuga Labs’ metaverse efforts, like Snoop Dogg and iconic producer Timbaland.
And naturally, brands are getting in on the action as well. To list just a few of the brands that have gone after their very own digital real estate, there are Warner Music Group, HSBC, Carrefour the Hong Kong theme Park ‘Ocean Park’ in The Sandbox, and Skechers, JP Morgan, Miller Lite, The Australian Open, and Tommy Hilfiger in Decentraland.
All in all, digital real estate has established itself as a hot commodity. Digital real estate may not be for everybody just yet. But for those ready to buy land in the metaverse, there’s never been a better time to get involved.
Subscribe to our hot social media and don’t miss anything else
All investment/financial opinions expressed by themediaverse.com are not recommendations.
This article is educational material.
As always, make your own research prior to making any kind of investment.
