The key terms for the metaverse domain are Sandbox and Decentraland. The arrival of the metaverse is a huge event for the tech industry. However, it is not easy to define the metaverse. Metaverse can be described as a virtual three-dimensional world in which users can interact with one another and create digital avatars. The debate over Decentraland and Sandbox is gaining more attention amid all the hype about the metaverse. Both are decentralized metaverse platforms that have no governing body. This article will discuss Decentraland and SandBox, as well as their key differences.
What is Decentraland?
Decentraland, a virtual reality world built on Ethereum blockchain, allows users to build their lives in many different ways. They can purchase property, build homes, or just enjoy the virtual world. Decentraland, unlike other virtual worlds is entirely owned by its users. Virtually everything is possible in Decentraland. You can trade with other players and buy property.
It allows users to purchase LAND, a non-fungible digital asset, via an Ethereum Smart Contract with MANA(MANA), an ERC-20 or Ethereum cryptocurrency. Decentraland was built on the Ethereum (ETH), blockchain. The Ethereum blockchain-based software Decentraland allows the ownership of lands to be recorded as digital assets. To participate in the game ecosystems, players must have MANA tokens in a wallet. Without any programming skills required, players can drag and drop pre-made elements into the scenes. You can also use coding skills to make endless creations on your lands. Simply drag and drop pre-made elements into the scenes.
Decentraland is a dapp. It has three layers. The consensus layer, which tracks the transfer of items between players, is the first layer. The second layer is a processing layer. It stores information about the game as well as the files required to run certain parts of the game. The last layer is called a real-time layer. This allows players to chat in real time. Decentraland is governed by a Decentralized Autonomous Organization. Through its ownership of smart contracts, the DAO can control Decentraland. The LAND and Estates smart contracts are examples. The DAO is a community that is run by token holders or members. Each token holder owns a part of Decentraland.
What is Sandbox?
The Sandbox (SAND), a virtual world game that runs on the Ethereum network, is decentralized. It is one the most widely used decentralized applications (DApps) on the Ethereum blockchain. It’s a community-driven, decentralized gaming ecosystem that allows creators to share and monetize voxel assets as well as gaming experiences on the blockchain. SAND is The Sandbox’s native cryptocurrency for in-game purchases and activities. Arthur Madrid (CEO), and Sebastien Borget, (COO) created the Sandbox company in 2011. After creating a variety of mobile games, the duo decided to create a blockchain-based gaming platform in 2018. The foundation of sandbox mode will be used to create this game. This allows players to pick the activity they wish.
The Sandbox leverages blockchain technology to enable user-generated content (UGC), and tokenomics. The Sandbox Team organized an initial coin offering (ICO), in August 2020. It raised $3 million to finance the development of the Sandbox. Sandbox allows you to play in a virtual world, where you can choose your activities. Sandbox also allows you to divide each tile into squares, called LAND. Every LAND has activities and game modes that are specific to the creator.
Several LAND plots can be combined to form an ESTATE. This is a grouping of LAND that has a similar theme. The SAND token can be used as a ticket to enter a LAND and ESTATE. Because Sandbox’s content is dependent on the creativity of its players, this makes it truly unlimited. All players with a LAND have the ability to use The Sandbox tools to create new game modes, fill their land with different objects, and even sell their assets.
Decentraland vs Sandbox – Key Differences
Histories
Esteban Ordano, Ariel Meilich and others founded the Decentraland Foundation in 2015. In 2017, Esteban Ordano and Ariel Meilich held an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). They raised 86,206 Ethereum (roughly $26 million at that time) to finance decentraland’s development. Decentraland was made available to the public in January 2020.
The original Sandbox mobile game was released May 15, 2012. In 2018, Animoca Brand acquired the Sandbox brand. The Sandbox raised $2.01 Million in crypto and cash to finance the development of The Sandbox. SoftBank made another $93 million investment in The Sandbox in November 2021. The Sandbox is still not fully available to the public. The Sandbox Metaverse alpha was released to the public on November 29th, 2021.
Way of Working
Decentraland offers 90,601 digital parcels land on the platform.
Virtual real estate can be divided into individual parcels, or estates that include multiple parcels of land. There are also districts with parcels that share similar themes or plazas. These parcels cannot be traded under community ownership. There are three types of tokens available: MANA, LAND and WEAR.
Sandbox allows you to group the plots into estates and offers 166 464 plots of virtual estate. Estates can only be owned by one person. Districts can be owned by two or more people. On the Sandbox metaverse, you can find four types of tokens, including SAND, GAMES and LAND.
The Sandbox vs. Decentraland Support
Many well-respected firms back Decentraland. FBG Capital, CoinFund, and Digital Currency Group are just a few of these firms. Decentraland also has partnerships with Polygon, Samsung, and Cyberpunk.
SoftBank is the largest backer of The Sandbox. SoftBank, a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding firm, is headquartered in Minato (Tokyo) and focuses on investment management. It invests mainly in financial, technology and energy companies. Softbank is the largest global investment company and has backed many other companies such as Uber and WeWork.
Buying Land
The Decentraland vs Sandbox comparisons highlight virtual real estate. Both platforms offer the possibility to purchase virtual land. This helps differentiate them. Sandbox, on the other hand, offers more options to users for purchasing virtual land through the OpenSea and Sandbox marketplaces. Decentraland, on the other hand, allows users to only purchase from the MANA market.
Age
In the Sandbox vs Decentraland debate, it is important to consider the maturity of metaverse project. Decentraland is clearly the clear winner in terms maturity. It was the first to claim metaverse and create a 3D blockchain-based metaverse. Decentraland provided the first working proof-of-concept and made it openly available to the public. Sandbox, on the other hand has not yet released Alpha versions to the public.
Final Thoughts
This was about the two most popular metaverse projects, Decentraland and Sandbox, and their key differences. Sandbox is still in Alpha mode while Decentraland has presented the working proof of concept. Both have a lot of work ahead of them in order to evolve the larger, decentralized metaverse. Both Decentraland and Sandbox have unique features. Investors can choose which features appeal to them best. Before investing in any crypto project, the investor should study its use cases
