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The Decentraland project was launched on August 26, 2017 that has created a decentralized metaverse. After FaceBook announced its rebrand to Meta, virtual reality cryptocurrencies that are building out a metaverse have skyrocketed –– MANA is no exception. Just last year, MANA was trading for pennies; as of May 2022, MANA is trading above $1 per coin. Continue reading to learn what Decentraland is and how to invest in MANA tokens today.
What is Decentraland?
As the first fully decentralized metaverse, asset ownership in Decentraland is controlled by smart contracts on Ethereum's network.
Like Minecraft or Second Life, there is no real goal in Decentraland. Instead, users can interact with each other in an open world game. Users have the option to purchase land within the game which are tokenized as NFTs. This land can be developed and monetized; Decentralgames has created a virtual casino within Decentraland where users can gamble cryptocurrency within the metaverse. Land owners can monetize their land how they see fit. Other developments within decentraland include virtual reality games and NFT museums.
mana
Decentraland$0.5036*
*prices delayed up to 10 minutes+20.0%
24HDisclosure: eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal.
There are a limited number of LANDs (NFT land) you can buy, with each unit measuring 16x16 meters, but there is no limit to the height of what you can build on them.
Many huge venture capital firms have backed Decentraland, such as:
- Genesis One Capital
- Boost VC
- Broslyn Capital
- INBlockchain
- Fabric Ventures
- Animoca Brands
- Fundamental Labs
- George Burke
What is MANA?
MANA is Decentraland's cryptocurrency. It's an ERC-20 token that you use to purchase parcels of LAND as well as to pay for goods and services in the platform's virtual reality world. Also, MANA is a governance token that allows token holders to have voting rights in the future of Decentraland's protocol. You can also invest in MANA tokens on a cryptocurrency exchange.
When you buy LAND, Decentraland burns the MANA you use to purchase it. The Decentraland team originally sold each plot of LAND for 1,000 MANA. Now that there is a secondary market, LAND prices vary. At the time of writing, the cheapest land in the game sells for around 4,000 MANA, or $4,000. However, the land located in prime locations and large parcels can fetch up 6-figures. Top sales of Land in Decentraland have sold for over a million dollars!
The price of MANA tokens is a testament to the success Decentraland has achieved. From a low of $ 0.007883 on October 3, 2017, MANA has reached its highest price of over $5 in November 2021, all in 4 years.
How does Decentraland Work?
On a practical level, Decentraland works by allowing you to interact with LAND (an irreplaceable digital asset that can be purchased in the game). The platform enables LAND owners to create games, applications, gambling services, creative 3D scenes, information sites, and literally anything the owner of LAND can think of.
Because of the limited number of virtual real estate in the game, 1 plot area has been determined as 16x16 meters. Interestingly, there is no limit to the height of the land. Various LANDs have created regions, which can be regarded as small communities around a common theme. Because Decentraland's token also serves as a governance token, anyone can vote on various regional issues. The amount of land a person owns directly depends on the voting power one holds.
Decentraland works in a similar way to most blockchain projects. Its agreement is divided into three layers: consensus layer, land content layer and real-time layer. Decentraland was the first protocol to use Ethereum smart contracts to track and manage land ownership certificates. The second layer uses a distribution system that presents distributed content in the virtual world. The last layer is responsible for providing peer-to-peer connections for users so that players can interact with each other within the game.
The Team Behind the Decentraland Project
Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano are at the head of the Decentraland crypto team. Meilich is the project manager and Ordano as technical manager. It should be noted that the two creators of this project have already had a common experience in the past, notably within Stremium and Bitcore during their creations.
Indeed, Ordano, as a renowned engineer, was the main leader of Stremium. (Stremium is an application allowing chain payments). In addition, because of his status as a software engineer, he was also the co-creator of Bitcore, a Bitcoin infrastructure unit. In addition, he participated in the development of a Bitcoin wallet called Copay.
Ordano spent his formative years competing in math and computer science Olympics, investing two summers working as a software engineering intern at Google.
Meilich is a professional in data analysis and venture capital. He worked as an analyst at Charles River Ventures, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital fund.
Before entering the tech world, he spent two years as a National Institute of Health Fellow, doing neuroscience research on human decision making while also running a BPO agency that supplied clients such as Amazon and General Electric.
In addition to these accomplished men, the Decentraland team brings together several heads, such as Manuel Araoz, a member of the board of directors. The latter is respected for his extensive experience in the electronic money sector. Araoz was the co-founder and creator of several cryptocurrency companies, such as Zeppelin Solutions, the leader in smart-contract security. Through their verified smart contracts, organizations like Brave, Golem and Blockchain Capital have raised over $250 million. Araoz is known as the creator of Proof of Existence, the first blockchain-based non-financial application. He was also the technical manager at Bitpay, Copay and Insight.
In addition, as a member of the board of directors, Yemel Jardi, a seasoned developer in the blockchain industry, previously worked on ChangeTip building a micro-payment infrastructure for the web before Airbnb acquired it in 2016. Before that, he was a software engineer at BitPay (the leading Bitcoin payment processor), where he designed some of the open-source tools most used by Bitcoin developers worldwide, such as the Bitcore library. Jardi is also a professor in the field of cryptocurrencies at the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires and president of the South American Business Forum.
Indeed, the Decentraland crypto project is the product of a long process of establishment. The first development grids for the latter have appeared since 2015 but in the form of pixels thanks to an algorithm system.
Also, it should be noted that the Decentraland crypto team has surrounded itself with several autonomous cells such as district, imToken and Aragon, which operate efficiently for the proper development of the project.
Decentraland Partners
Regarding Decentraland's partners, they are not many, but they are big names in the technology world:
- HTC: On February 26, 2019, the Decentraland team announced a partnership with HTC on its blog. It will be possible to buy, sell and manage the LANDs acquired via Exodus 1. This partnership, therefore, opens the doors to a potential future collaboration for porting the game to the company's virtual reality devices.
- Binance: Decentraland also partnered with Binance in December 2018 to enable the purchase of LANDs with Binance Coin (BNB). This increases the number of potential buyers and offers better visibility to the project.
- Samsung: Samsung added Decentraland to its Wallet app not long ago.
How to Buy MANA Tokens
MANA is available on many crypto trading platforms, but for convenience (fees and cash available), it is best to use Binance to get it. MANA is currently listed on more than 15 exchanges, the most famous of which are Gemini, Coinbase and eToro.
You can purchase MANA using in these easy steps:
- Go to an Exchange and create a new account by entering your email and strong password and accept terms.
- Verify Your Email
- Add your phone number and verify it.
- To protect your money, don't forget to enable two-factor authentication.
- Deposit funds on the platform.
- Click on the Market menu and look for the BTC / MANA or MANA / USD pair depending on the funds you have.
- Buy MANA for the amount of your choice.
Congratulations! You are now in possession of MANA tokens!
Factors that Increase the Value of MANA
Like other altcoins, four main factors can contribute to fluctuating the value of MANA crypto. These include the impact of the media, the global economic context, the law of supply and demand and the legislation in force.
- ERC-20 tokens
How to Store MANA Tokens
There are two options for storing MANA tokens. The first is hardware wallets — especially recommended if you plan to store MANA for long periods. They are very secure and impossible to hack because they are offline wallets. The best hardware wallet available in the market that supports MANA is the Ledger in its two versions: the Ledger Nano S and the Ledger Nano X.
The second option for storing MANA tokens is software wallets, which are a good option for short-term storage. Although there are many wallets that support MANA tokens, among the best is the Coinbase wallet.
Is it a Good Idea to Buy MANA in 2021?
MANA is based on an Ethereum blockchain network, which implies a guarantee of security, reliability, speed, updates and protection, thanks to a huge community that works for it. In 2021, Decentraland (like Ethereum) is having its best year to date, and many analysts agree that this has only begun. As of November 2021, the token has bullish trends at the same time as it presents an affordable cost.