Before we move forward, let’s understand a brief of what is ‘Decentraland’?
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What is Decentraland?
Decentraland is an entirely decentralized 3D virtual world where people can own and develop their virtual land, or they can wander around and interact with what other users have already created, as well as interact with other people that are exploring Decentraland at the same time.
The Decentraland landscape can include static 3D scenery, interactive objects, buildings, art, games, or massive events that attract thousands of users.
Decentraland is a virtual world sensation built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. Dectraland developments started back in 2015 with a 2D proof-of-concept that was named and called ‘the stone age’. In February 2020, Decentralized was officially launched to the general public.
Website – https://decentraland.org/
History of Decentraland
Decentraland was developed in 2015 but got released to general public on February 20, 2020. Decentraland was founded by Argentinians Ariel Mellich and Esteban Ordano.
Decentraland raised about 26 million dollars in Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2017. That gave birth to Decentraland’s native token ‘MANA’.
In recent years Decentraland has partnered with many top brands including Samsung and Adidas.
Decentraland hosted its very first metaverse fashion show which featured Dolce & Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, Perry Ellis, Imitation of Christ, and Estee. The show also featured music artists including Deadmau5 and Grimes.
How does Decentraland works?
The world of Decentraland is divided and multiplied into small fragments called ‘parcels’. Each parcel is 16 m X 16 m or 52 ft X 52 ft. It is the smallest piece of land one can own. However, if you own many parcels located next to each other you can combine them all to build a huge piece of land. You can combine parcels to create an estate. Some areas are allocated to some specific theme that creates a District. These district attracts more users in Decentraland.
Decentraland is a world within itself, best example is the first district of Decentraland which is called ‘The Genesis Plaza’. This location is located on the centre of the Decentraland map. Furthermore, it is the first user attraction location. The Genesis Plaza is a beautiful Plaza, completely virtual where you can learn more about Decentraland, how it was created and its background and history. You can also learn how to use and navigate the Decentraland map. The current most hyped locations are also listed in the Genesis Plaza.
As mentioned earlier, the entire land is divided into small pieces called parcels. Each parcel is represented by X and Y coordinates on the map that users use to locate.
The parcel is also represented by a ‘LAND token’ on the Ethereum blockchain. LAND is an ERC721 token, which means it is a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). It is scarce, unique and collectable. It is one of its kind and cannot be replaced or replicated by any other parcel. This makes every parcel unique and one of its kind. It carries the information of the land locations in Decentraland. It also carries the X and Y coordinates, along with the decentralized servers run by the community holding the content needed to render in 3D graphics for everyone to enjoy.
That’s what makes Decentraland different from other centralized digital worlds like Minecraft and Sims Life.
In these the world is controlled by a single entity who can change the rules as they desire to censor you or ban you, in this case, you will lose everything you built, but with Decentraland the world belongs to the community, Decentraland is governed by DAO. Decentralized autonomous organization, because its decentralized means that everyone in the community can participate and can vote on the proposals they want to adopt or reject.
You can learn to build your Decentraland world through basic learning and SDK (Standard Development Kit). And then you can invite your friends for a virtual drink over your world. That’s called ‘Mia Casa’. Or you can simply explore this colorful and vast world, interact with objects, visit clubs, museums, hotels and much more. There are endless possibilities for creation in this world.
Decentraland Marketplace
Decentraland Marketplace is a place where users can buy various collectables, wearables for their avatars and also parcels and lands in exchange for MANA, that is the native token of Decentraland.
As of July, 4 2022 MANA is priced at 0.8912$
You can buy lands on Decentraland Marketplace for MANA, some of the early buyers of Decentraland have put their unique pieces of land on sale. The value of land just like in real life depends on the location and size. If the land is located near a crowded and popular landmark like Genesis Plaza, prices tend to be higher than usual and also big pieces of land come with big prices to be paid.
Besides land, you can go to the Marketplace to buy fancy wearables for your avatar that will make your avatar different from others.
You can buy MANA on any exchange platform like Exodus, however, it’s not possible to buy MANA for fiat money you can exchange it with your owned cryptocurrency.
How to play on Decentraland?
Decentraland is very easy to operate. All you need is a browser, these browsers include Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Chrome. The basic specifications or system requirements required to run Decentraland include:
- CPU: Intel Core i3 (2nd Gen or higher) or AMD equivalent.
- RAM: Minimum – 4 GB RAM – RECOMMENDED – 8GB RAM.
- Graphics: Minimum NVIDIA GT 730 or AMD equivalent or better
- Windows 10/11 or MacOS.
Decentraland can also be accessed on Xbox Series S|X through Microsoft’s native Edge browser giving superior experience.
How to buy Free land on Decentraland?
Decentraland is one of the major platforms in the metaverse world. Land is most expensive on such major platforms, in this case, there is no proven way to get free land in Decentraland. However, there are new metaverse projects that keep launching who initially drop free lands for their community for the sake of promotion.
Even though you cannot get free land, you can still buy cheap land on Decentraland. For any transaction over Decentraland, you need some MANA and ETH in your digital wallet. MANA is the native token of Decentraland that is used to buy anything on Decentraland and ETH is used as transaction fees.
How to buy land in Decentraland?
- Sign up with Decentraland
Initial thing is to make an account with Decentraland. Go to their website and move forward with your registration process. You need to visit their official website https://decentraland.org/
- Visit Decentraland Marketplace
Next thing is to visit the marketplace: https://market.decentraland.org/lands
A map will pop up. You navigate through the entire map to find the property you want to buy, the map will show blocks shaded blue that represents the pieces of land on sale.
- Purchase the land
After you have selected the land and you are satisfied with the price connect your Decentraland with your digital wallet to move forward with your transactions. Confirm on ‘Buy’ to officially buy that piece of land. As mentioned earlier land can be bought by MANA or ETH.
The transaction will be completed within a few minutes and the land will be yours. Safely transfer the NFT to your digital wallet or if possible use a hardware wallet.
Is it worth buying land in Decentraland?
Decentraland is gaining recognition and popularity day by day. That is the reason the lands are getting hiked in their price levels. Even the cheapest land in Decentraland cost about 13000$ which cannot be afforded by someone low in liquidity.
However, if one has the liquidity and wants to invest in metaverse Decentraland will be a good option because according to analysis the prices of such lands will keep rising so investing in it will be a good idea as it will bring lots of profits in the future.
Additionally, lots of community-based activities and events keep taking place in Decentraland that attracts more and more users. Each parcel represents an NFT that is unique and cannot be replicated or replaced, making it even more worthy.
But, one should never forget that the crypto market is extremely volatile, but if the person is willing to invest in the metaverse and believes that it will be the future then investing in Decentraland will be deemed good for him.
Conclusion
Decentraland is a virtual world full of possibilities and creativity. This adds a twist to the Crypto market as it is a community-based game that allows users to interact with each other. Every parcel is unique and original NFT. However, the prices of such lands are very high and not affordable for a normal man. Investing in such lands requires high liquidity and high risk-taking levels. But above all that you can still roam around the world and interact with what other users have created and enjoy.
