Metaverse coins – Crypto meeting virtual reality
Creating a functional virtual reality has been one of humanity's dreams for a long time. In recent years, we have come closer than ever to this goal. Metaverse, the latest buzzword in the world of innovation, is all over the place. Facebook is renamed Meta and launches its own virtual space, new virtual worlds with almost complete freedom of action appear on the engines of well-known videogames powered by blockchains – the digital reality is rocking the world, winning more and more fans.
Metaverses try to duplicate reality as closely as possible. And what is a more impactful aspect of the real world than a functional economy? To support it and ensure the logical distribution of a limited number of means of payment, the most popular metaverses have implemented a special type of cryptocurrency – metaverse tokens.
Significantly different from all other digital currencies, metaverse coins are the latest trend in the crypto world. Let's talk about them in more detail.
What’s a metaverse?
Before discussing the phenomenon of metaverse tokens, we should first clarify what "metaverse" means. This is a relatively old word that was first used in science fiction in the early 1990s. However, it gained a second life in recent years, when sci-fi dreams of creating virtual worlds ceased to be fantastic and became quite realistic.
Ideally, a metaverse allows users to do everything (or almost everything) they can do in real life. They can work, eat, sleep, meet with friends, and communicate with new people, all within the confines of a virtual reality setting.
People with gaming experience may get the impression that metaverses are no different from video games. To a large extent, this statement is true. However, unlike video games, metaverses offer users a space to exist rather than a set of quests for entertainment. Actions taken in the metaverse have consequences like those committed by people in reality.
For example, after purchasing property or land in such a virtual world, you become its legal owner, and no one can take it away from you. When you interact with other people, you don't do it to complete quests together but for the same reasons you would do it in real life. At their core, metaverses are merely other forms of existence of human society with the same, if not wider, set of possibilities as the non-virtual world provides.
What are metaverse tokens?
Since metaverses try to duplicate the dynamics and specifics of real human societies as closely as possible, their virtual economies are subjected to thorough development. This is when metaverse coins come into play.
In their respective virtual spaces, metaverse coins perform the same functions as fiat in the real world. Players use them to pay for goods and services, including digital clothing for the avatar, unique items, various products, real estate, and other objects available for trade.
The fact that metaverse tokens are used to buy virtual items does not mean they are useless in the real world. Of course, some of them can only be utilized in their respective virtual worlds. Meanwhile, the most popular metaverse coins have real-life value and are actively traded on crypto exchanges.
The most popular metaverse coins
Today, the number of metaverses, including both those already created and those under development, has already exceeded 160.
Even considering that not all of them use crypto as a driver of their internal economies, the number of metaverse coins flowing from this figure is still impressive.
However, not all metaverse tokens are worth the same attention. Currently, two coins are considered the leaders in the metaverse race: MANA and SAND. Let's talk about them.
Decentraland (MANA)
MANA is the internal cryptocurrency of the Decentraland platform. This is one of the most popular metaverses out there today. Decentraland is powered by the Ethereum blockchain. This metaverse was created in 2017, but the peak of its popularity came in recent years after the NFT boom.
Decentraland offers its users a wide range of possibilities. They can interact with each other, conduct business, and make various purchases, from clothes to land, using MANA. Given the popularity of this metaverse, financial transactions within Decentraland can be monetized in real life. If you are willing to explore the world of metaverse coins, buying MANA could be an option for you.
As of March 9, 2023, the price of MANA is $0.56.
MANA's market capitalization is $1.05 billion.
Sandbox (SAND)
SAND is a metaverse token used as a means of payment in The Sandbox virtual reality project. Unlike Decentraland, The Sandbox was originally created as a mere videogame way back in 2012.
At the time of its first launch, the game had only some of the features of a metaverse. However, the new technological possibilities that have arisen during the last decade and the implementation of blockchain in the structure of The Sandbox have allowed it to fully fall under the definition of a metaverse.
In The Sandbox, players can, among other things, purchase items and land in the form of NFTs. To make such purchases, they use SAND, the platform’s native tokens. Given the popularity of The Sandbox, this coin has long outgrown intra-platform use and gained real-life value. Today, you can buy SAND on many reputable crypto exchanges.
As of March 8, 2023, the price of SAND is $0.57.
SAND’s market capitalization is $1.01 billion.
Bottom line
Metaverse tokens are some of the most trending types of crypto at the moment. Given the proliferation of new metaverses and their growing importance in new iterations of the Internet, these virtual worlds’ native tokens have transformed from intra-platform currencies to actively traded crypto coins with market caps exceeding billions of US dollars.
Today, more than 160 metaverses exist, most of which have their own coins. Among these, crypto enthusiasts may want to pay special attention to MANA and SAND, which are the in-platform currencies of the Decentraland and The Sandbox metaverses, respectively.
MANA and SAND are the leaders among metaverse coins with the highest price and the largest market capitalization. If you’re ready to start exploring the potential of metaverse crypto coins, you can buy or exchange these tokens on XBO at any time that suits you!
Disclaimer: Our content does not constitute financial advice. It is only intended for informational and educational purposes.
