The metaverse is a virtual world where people can interact and communicate virtually. The word metaverse has become increasingly popular mainly since Facebook changed its name to Meta as part of its metaverse push. Metaverse is transforming the way people interact with each other and redefining the ownership of in-game content in the form of NFTs. Global technology and gaming companies like Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Unity, and Epic Games are investing and competing against each other to expand their user base and dominate in the metaverse.
The Sandbox
The Sandbox is a play-to-earn virtual world that utilizes Blockchain Technology, DeFi, and NFTs in a three-dimensional metaverse. Sandbox was initially a mobile game developed by Pixowl and released on May 15, 2012. In 2018, Sebastien Borget and Arthur Madrid, the co-founders of Pixowl, decided to explore the potential of creating a metaverse on the blockchain that would allow users to own their creations as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and earn rewards for their participation in the ecosystem.
The Sandbox has become one of the fastest-growing games on the blockchain, along with Decentraland, Bloktopia, Roblox, and Axie Infinity. Sandbox metaverse offers a decentralized platform for players and creators by combining the power of DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). Players can use tools like Game Maker and VoxEdit to create digital assets that can be monetized or sold as NFTs on NFT marketplaces like The Sandbox Marketplace and OpenSea.
The Sandbox virtual world is built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, and it is secured by the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Increased interest and demand in dApps (decentralized applications) caused Ethereum to have high fees and slow processing speed. Sandbox is migrating to Polygon Network to avoid network congestion and minimize transaction fees when interacting with the game.
SAND
SAND is the native token of The Sandbox, an ERC-20 token used for transactions and interactions within The Sandbox ecosystem. Players must own SAND to play games, purchase LANDS, or trade digital assets on the Sandbox Marketplace. SAND holders can participate in governance decisions of the platform and can propose and vote on changes through a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization).
In addition, holders can stake SAND to earn rewards. Staking SAND can increase the chance of finding CATALYSTs and valuable GEMs. GEM is an ERC-20 utility token that defines your ASSET’s attributes, and CATALYST is an ERC-20 utility token representing your ASSET’s tier and scarcity.
Sandbox uses a fee collection model, where 5% of the total transaction value is collected from trading fees in the market, and the remaining 95% is collected from the sale of NFT and premium LAND. According to CoinMarketCap, 1.23 billion SAND tokens are in circulation with a maximum supply of 3 billion. The distribution of the SAND token supply is as follows:
What is LAND?
A LAND is a digital piece of real estate in The Sandbox’s metaverse. The Sandbox metaverse comprises 166,464 LANDS in a 408×408 square map. Each LAND is a unique ERC-721 non-fungible token on the Ethereum blockchain. LAND ownership will allow you to earn SAND by renting the LAND or hosting games and experiences. You can purchase a LAND during public LAND sales. Additionally, you can buy LAND from other users on the Sandbox Marketplace and NFT platforms such as LooksRare and OpenSea.
Sandbox has fueled the recent growth in demand for virtual real estate, partnering with major IPs and brands such as Atari, Binance, Gucci, Adidas, Warner Music Group, The Walking Dead, DeadMau5, Snoop Dogg, Care Bears, Shaun the Sheep, and The Smurfs.
What are ASSETS?
The word ‘Assets’ refers to the voxel assets in The Sandbox. Assets are user-generated NFTs created with VoxEdit. There are different categories of assets:
Entities are NFTs that will create experiences with NPCs (non-playable characters) such as people and animals.
Equipment is an NFT that can be equipped to help the player achieve in-game objectives.
Wearables are cosmetic items that will change the appearance of a player’s avatar, like a t-shirt, a hat, shoes, etc.
VoxEdit is a user-friendly voxel editing tool developed by The Sandbox for artists and players to create, rig, and animate their voxel-based NFTs. Users can create avatar-oriented equipment like weapons, clothes, and tools that can be exported and traded on the Sandbox Marketplace as NFTs.
Game Maker lets users build and test 3D games within the Sandbox metaverse. The game maker allows users to design and arrange various elements and objects, including NFTs created with VoxEdit.
The Sandbox establishes a vision of how the metaverse would look, and it brings many opportunities for gamers and creators. The game is still in development and has hosted two early access alpha playtests called The Sandbox Alpha Season, allowing players to explore the metaverse through curated experiences and social hubs. The Sandbox has yet to announce its plans to open the entire experience.
