This might just be the start of the real Matrix as we know it. Decentraland is a virtual reality game, in which the player can buy virtual parcels of land that are 10 x 10 meters squared (33 x 33 feet), with the in-game currency, or token, called MANA. Before we get lost in the Matrix, let’s crunch the numbers.
Financials
Decentraland had a record short ICO. It sold out within 35 seconds and raised $24 mln in funding from some 10,000 potential investors, of which there were only 2,000 unique investors when the ICO concluded.
Note, that not everyone who sought to participate got their MANA. Decentraland said that almost 7,000 transactions did not go through. MANA entered the market on Sept. 17, 2017 at $0.0288 and increased to $0.1015 at the time of writing, down from $0.2697, an all-time high.
There is a total supply of 2.6 bln MANA and currently there is a circulating supply of 1.05 bln MANA. There is much more to be added to the pool, possibly to control the price and keep land prices from rising too much.
Decentra-wahh? Is that you Neo?
Ok, so you can spend, essentially real money to buy virtual land.
Not sure where I really see the value in virtual land, but I am sure this is just the beginning. New things always have its critics.
To define what Decentraland is, let’s turn to the website for a concise explanation: “Decentraland is a virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum Blockchain, where users are true owners of their virtual land. Within the Decentraland platform, users will be able to create, experience, and monetize content and applications.”
While we are not really sure what this place is or what you can do there, there is already a movement to start raising funds for a city, called Genesis City, a public place where participants can interact with each other and seek further entertainment.
There is supposed to be an entertainment district within this virtual city, where you can have more VR experiences, such as going to see VR performances, concerts, and many VR sporting events.
Is the world ready for the Decentraland experience?
This is some groundbreaking stuff for sure, but we need to get out of the virtual reality and come back to reality and ask a few questions.
Namely, is the Decentraland project ahead of its time right now? When can we expect the VR to be ready for mass market?
Is the value going to be measured by the amount of possessed “land,” or how will MANA be used as a medium of exchange?
Most importantly, will there be taxes? Since this is new territory, it is hard to give it a valuation as it is not live yet and we are not really sure what users can do with it nor how they will interact.
It does seem gimmicky, as one such investor spent the equivalent of $60,000 for a parcel of virtual land. I am sure there are many laughing and such a silly purchase when you could by real land and develop it into something tangible that has a real value.
Others may say, that we create our own wealth and value by belief in something. That right there, is how Bitcoin operates and has value. Philosophically speaking, what really has value? The things we select to have value.
Alex Dovbnya
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin