If you haven’t read Earnest Cline’s Ready Player One, do it (skip the movie).
The novel envisions a 2040s dystopia with humanity suffering through a near-complete ecological and civilizational collapse. To cope, most humans spend most of their time plugged into the OASIS, a fully immersive metaverse with nearly endless opportunities for socialization, work, entertainment, education, adventure, and competition.
Source: The New Yorker, Ready Player One
One of the book’s thematic conflicts centers on who should have ultimate control of this metaverse. Will humanity collectively own and govern OASIS or will it be the property of Innovative Online Industries, a multinational corporation. Ready Player One is a fantastic primer for understanding both what technologists are currently developing and the importance of thoughtful considerations with regard to ownership and control of the internet.
In this article, we will analyze and compare the two largest metaverses on the market – Sandbox and decentraland. The odds are decent that one day either one or both develop into fully immersive experiences similar to the OASIS. If this occurs, early investors will be duly compensated. I’m optimistic but rooting against the dystopian backdrop.
What is the Metaverse?
The metaverse is the idea of a fully immersive digital reality that simulates physical reality. In the metaverse, users would be able to communicate, form relationships, engage in commerce, play games, compete, learn, create, and have adventures.
The Similarities: Sandbox vs Decentraland
Decentraland and Sandbox are virtual worlds that in many ways represent the physical world. Users in both represent themselves with customizable 3D avatars and can engage in peer-to-peer communication, explore the ever-evolving landscapes, play games, compete, create, and engage in digital commerce.
Decentraland and Sandbox are Web3 metaverses powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Users can take ownership stakes of both platforms through purchasing virtual land plots, creating, owning, and trading unique user-created content, games, and businesses, and by investing in the platforms’ utility tokens. Ownership of these digital assets is verifiable on-chain via tokenization and NFTs.
Scarce land is key to the economics of both metaverses. Users can own, rent, and trade a limited supply of virtual land plots, and land owners enjoy near free reign when it comes to design and customization. User-created experiences, games, or applications must be hosted on a particular land plot where they can be monetized. Landowners can host their content or rent out their land for other creators to host their experiences.
Decentraland and Sandbox were launched in 2017 and 2021, respectively. Decentraland is currently the largest metaverse with a market cap of $1.94 billion, with Sandbox being a close runner-up at a $1.78 billion market cap.
Both metaverses are financially backed and partnered with some heavy-hitters. Decentraland has received investments from or made partnerships with FBG Capital, CoinFund, Digital Currency Group, Cyberpunk, Polygon, Samsung, and the South Korean Government. Sandbox has done the same with SoftBank, Adidas, Binance, Snoop Dogg, Atari, and CryptoKitties.
The Differences: Sandbox vs Decentraland
- Central…
David learned about bitcoin in 2015 and has closely followed the crypto industry since then.
His professional interests center around bitcoin, layer-one blockchain protocols, decentralized finance, and clean energy.
An attorney by trade, David has held licenses to practice law in the State of Hawaii and in US federal courts.
