Published on: 14/10/2021
Decentraland: What is it? How can you earn money?
Decentraland is one of several blockchain-based gaming platforms out there. Like similar games such as The Sandbox or CryptoVoxels, it relies on users owning NFTs in the form of ‘land’ which they can design and outfit the way they want to. They can also style their own avatars of course, also by using NFTs. What makes Decentraland stand out from competitors is that the whole thing is available in Virtual Reality.
Like many other crypto gaming ventures, Decentraland is based on the Ethereum main chain, and it has its own specific coin that’s based on Ethereum as well. MANA is tradeable just like Bitcoin, and can be used to make purchases within the Decentraland world as well.
Who created Decentraland?
Decentraland was opened to the public in February 2020. It is run by the nonprofit Decentraland Foundation. Originally, it was created in 2015 by two Argentinian creators – Ali Meilicha and Esteban Ordano. What started out as a pixelated grid where individual pixels were assigned to users, it later evolved into a 3D and then a VR world. In 2018, several huge investors paid an undisclosed sum in the millions to get the project going – and not long after, the initial land parcels that sold for $20 were worth as much as $100k on crypto exchanges.
Users can use the land that they have in various ways – popular options include little online stores, art galleries and various types of hangout spots for other users. The sky is the limit – users can create just about anything they feel like in their little part of the Decentraland world.
Can you earn money?
Like with any crypto project, investment is part of the deal – and so is the potential for profit. When land was incredibly cheap, those who picked it up and later flipped it for a profit had it made – hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in profit. That’s still possible – a clever bargain buy could continue to increase in price.
That kind of investment carries financial risks of course. While there is the potential for profit, it’s equally possible that items decrease in value, and the money is lost instead. Of course, MANA itself is also a currency – and players can earn it by being active in Decentraland. If you don’t want to pay for land, there are other ways to get currency – with a smaller amount of MANA, you could visit one of the several casinos that people have built inside of Decentraland and try to gamble for more of it. It’s also possible to win MANA in various sponsored events and giveaways, but that’s a less reliable way of farming for the coin.
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How can you play?
Since the game is free to play, anyone can make an account and play – however, in order to have and hold MANA, users need to have a suitable cryptocurrency wallet to store it in. Those are free as well, but need setting up before a player can get their first MANA. It’s possible to buy it in crypto exchanges such as Binance, or on other platforms with real money. Once you have MANA, you can use it either to buy land or do other stuff in the Decentraland world.
