Ethereum's new role as a public digital framework has sparked a surge in innovative initiatives, among which is Decentraland , an entertainment-driven digital universe.
What makes Decentraland particularly intriguing is the recent buzz around its MANA token, especially in the realm of NFTs or non-fungible tokens, where it's been making waves. quite popular Take last week's figures, for instance, where the total sales in this digital world nearly reached an impressive $600,000 USD. This was over triple the trade activity associated with the week's second-most popular NFT venture, The Sandbox. The excitement surrounding Decentraland is partly due to its upcoming mainnet launch, set for February 20th.
In essence, Decentraland is embracing full decentralization. Once the mainnet is live, this universe within the 'Metaverse' aspires to mature further, as its creators indicate.
What to Expect?
\"The rollout encompasses the creation of the Decentraland DAO, fully decentralizing the world's infrastructure, such as user communications and content delivery, and importantly, granting public access to all the Metaverse has to offer. Going forward, no single entity will have the power to alter software rules, curate LAND content, adjust MANA's economics, unilaterally upgrade LAND smart contracts, or restrict access, among other decentralization attributes.\" said last month:
Like it or not, this progression will likely stir short-term buzz, leading to heightened trading activity as more individuals take notice. Thus, expect a surge in the MANA market and Decentraland parcel trading in the foreseeable future.
Recently, on February 17th, Decentraland revealed plans to extend its virtual marketplace beyond just land, adding 'wearables and Avatar names' to enhance players' customization options.
New Marketplace
According to the project's team, its previously existing marketplace had facilitated close to $50 million in transactions, with more anticipated through the updated dashboard.
\"With the debut of the revamped Marketplace and with the inclusion of NFTs, sales are projected to skyrocket as users can now manage all their Decentraland trading transactions in one centralized location,\" stated Decentraland's team.
Lately, MANA, which serves as the digital currency in Decentraland's virtual universe, has been on an upward trajectory.
Recent Price Action
Towards the end of last year, MANA hit a low of $0.0191. Since then, the token has been making a comeback, reaching its current rate of $0.0554, marking a notable 184% climb from its trough. With a previous peak of $0.259, MANA still has a ways to go to hit earlier highs.
Given the increasing buying interest in NFT projects and the anticipated launch of the Decentraland mainnet, the possibility of MANA returning to its all-time high this year could be more than a dream.
Decentraland represents a digital realm, demanding unique identities akin to any virtual society.
A Novel Identity System
Previously, Decentraland's name system was rigid, assigning each address just one name, with no ability to transfer names between addresses. However, a recent update has introduced a much more user-friendly system.
Notably, Decentraland's new ID framework is now in sync with the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), allowing the ease of sending MANA tokens to user-friendly address names. Further, Decentraland names now are ERC-721 tokens, facilitating seamless transfers between Ethereum addresses as NFTs. These small but significant improvements far surpass the original setup.
William M. Peaster brings expertise as a writer and editor, delving into Ethereum, Dai, and Bitcoin topics in the cryptoverse. His contributions include insights for Blockonomi, Binance Academy, Bitsonline, and more. He tracks developments in smart contracts, DAOs, dApps, and the Lightning Network, currently learning Solidity as well! Connect with him on Telegram at @wmpeaster
