Decentraland: An Epic Virtual World Powered by Cryptocurrency

Virtual Real Estate

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Decentraland is a virtual world where users can buy land, explore, build and program custom crypto-powered projects. In DCL, parcels of land are connected by blockchain technology (through Ethereum). Users retain total control of the properties that they wield contracts over. With each digital parcel, Decentraland provides a kit of parts that owners and developers can utilize to build unique applications, buildings, parks, workshops, resorts, casinos, exploratory architecture, and all manner of crypto-powered virtual businesses.

Buy, Sell and Explore “Genesis City”

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As we speak, Genesis City is being forged into the blockchain universe. The City itself is composed of 4 land types; private, districts, community and roads. A master plan (below) reveals the whole of Genesis, a plan that is expected expand over time. Digital parcels first appeared on the market in December (2017). Today, there are a total of just over 90,000 parcels available to be bought, sold, and developed.

Master Plan (below) created by Decentraland Design Quarter.

Right now, you can purchase these parcels of land through the Decentraland Marketplace during an early stage of the DCL roadmap defined as the Terraform Event. Here, digital hotspots are exchanged using the native cryptocurrency MANA. Users are already buying, selling and trading plots for extraordinary prices that appear to correspond with the preordained master plan of “Genesis City”.

As an example, today you might see some parcels (closest to City Center) on sale for a staggering 10,000,000 MANA, or $1.5 million USD. More typical pricing can be found in the suburbs - so to speak - with prices typically around the 9,000 MANA mark or $1,350 USD. The crypto real estate market is booming!

Here is a fascinating timelapse that documents land auction sales from December 15th - 22nd. Through this visualization you can see how the most sought after plots tend to cluster around public spaces, roads and central infrastructure. Much like a real city, digital real estate is all about good roads and good landmarks.

Each parcel is measured at 10 meters by 10 meters, with the whole of Decentraland being roughly the size of Washington D.C. proper. If you are curious to learn more about how to purchase land, take a look at this marketplace tutorial created by the DCL team.

The Future of Social is Virtual

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Could the future of community building and engagement be curated through virtual landscapes and decentralized ownership? We have had a glimpse of this attraction through games like Second Life - where users create avatars to explore, communicate and even earn digital money. MANA takes this concept to new heights while tackling the resiliency of an underlying infrastructure. By integrating blockchain tools, no single company would have comprehensive governance over Genesis City. Users (residents and developers) would be free to create an extraordinary range of fictional landscapes fueled entirely by cryptocurrency and the open-source ideation they are surrounded by.

As these landscapes develop through a series of “Ages” (a timeline that you can track in the Roadmap bottom section of their website), more and more opportunities will arise for developers and designers to create diverse programs in and around the digital world. The development of physical designs and infrastructures are just the first step and creators within Decentraland will likely be able to soon leverage the dynamic world to host concurrent games, activities, relationships, and much more. Simply put, the potential of Decentraland is mind-blowing.

• DCL Modeling projects created by Jeff Krantz, Pablo Gonzalez and Juan Cazala.

Project Details

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Project Name: Decentraland
Website: https://decentraland.org/
Steem Account: @decentraland
Twitter: https://twitter.com/decentraland
Roadmap: Link here
Discord: Chatroom link

thumbnail by @carrotcake | screenshots from @decentraland

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