Be Snoop Dogg's virtual neighbour in the metaverse
22:42, 10 February 2022
The idea of buying virtual land in the metaverse with real money might take some time to wrap your brain around. But metaverse land sales are something that’s already booming.
In the recent State of Crypto report, researchers at digital asset manager 21Shares describe the metaverse as “a new iteration of the internet, where people meet, play, collaborate or even work together. It combines different technology components, including blockchain, non-fungible tokens, decentralised finance, gaming, augmented reality and virtual reality.”
Market and consumer data company Statista estimates the augmented, virtual and mixed-reality market will approach $300bn (£221.5bn) by 2024, noted the 21Shares researchers.
Companies like Decentraland, Cryptovoxels and The Sandbox have joined the more well-known Meta Platforms and Roblox in the metaverse, offering virtual land to keep and display all your virtual stuff.
Alts' von Imhoff at the virtual Australian Open - Photo: AltsVirtual real estate prices can range from a low of $12,000 for a basic plot on Decentraland up to a $450,000 for a plot adjacent to rapper Snoop Dogg (real name Calvin Broadus), notes Stefan von Imhof, CEO of alternative investment community Alts.
“Metaverse land is very real, and so is the money pouring into the space,” writes von Imhoff in a recent analysis of metaverse real estate. “It is on track to become a billion-dollar industry this year.”
The two most notable metaverse land investors, von Imhoff reports, are Republic Realm and Tokens.com, which have each bought up virtual land for development and eventual resale.
In November, Tokens.com subsidiary The Metaverse Group purchased 116 plots in the Decentraland metaverse for $2.5m. Republic Realm purchased 792 pots in The Sandbox metaverse for $4.28m – the largest land sale in The Sandbox’s history.
The 792 parcels of land purchased by Republic Realm represents 7.9 million square feet (733,934 square metres), or three-square miles in what Republic Realm calls “one of the largest and most central plots in the Sandbox metaverse.”
Snoop Dogg recently sold virtual land for over $1mFor those seeking a more upscale metaverse lifestyle, one could buy some virtual land in the Snoopverse, a virtual neighbourhood in The Sandbox metaverse owned by Broadus. Nine plots adjacent to Broadus’ virtual mansion sold in December for $1.23m, the largest for $450,000, von Imhoff reports.
Taking a first-hand dive into the metaverse, von Imhoff visited the Decentraland, Cryptovoxels and The Sandbox to personally inspect the various virtual real estate markets.
Snoop Dogg's virtual mansion - Photo: Altsvon Imhoff describes entry into Decentraland as “pretty easy. There are two options: you can sign in with your digital wallet or sign in as a guest.” Once inside, “the vibe is cheerful with a Lego Movie kind of soundtrack vibe.”
After running laps around the plaza and jumping into a fountain – which acts as a transportation portal – he visited a virtual Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena.
Visiting the Cryptovoxels metaverse, which von Imhoff notes is as simple as visiting the website, he found the experience had an “eeriness,” comparing it to the blockbuster film Inception “or China’s eerie ghost cities.”
“It feels cheapened, like a way for speculators to park their money in a place they will never visit.”
Visiting The Sandbox, von Imhoff ran into the logistical problem of being an Apple Mac user. “I wanted to enter The Sandbox badly. And I did,” added von Imhoff. “I couldn’t test out the different ‘sandboxes’ made by other users because I no longer have a Windows computer.”
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