What is Decentraland?

Decentraland is a blockchain-based virtual world. Users create and own land plots, artwork, characters & structures in it. Members also get involved in the platform’s Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Decentraland, being a DAO, empowers its community to participate in project governance. The Ethereum blockchain hosts Decentraland’s native cryptocurrency, MANA, as well as all in-game assets.

If you’ve ever played Second Life or traded cryptocurrencies, Decentraland may be of interest to you. Since its inception in 2016, the platform has grown from a simple 2D experiment into a massive 3D universe.

Estaban Ordano and Ari Meilich, are the creators of Decentraland. It has virtual area with digital real estate plots, objects, and other customizable assets. All of these are available for purchase with MANA, Decentraland’s ERC-20 token. Decentraland users can purchase MANA on multiple exchanges for either cryptocurrency or fiat currency. Decentraland’s unique assets, such as LAND property and other valuable things, are represented by ERC-721 (non-fungible token standard).

History of Decentraland

Decentraland, which went live in January 2020, is an Ethereum-based virtual world, or called a metaverse, owned by its users and managed by a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). It contains three native tokens:

1. LAND, an ERC-721 token that represents digital land parcels.
2. Estate, an ERC-721 token that represents merged digital land chunks.
3. MANA, an ERC-20 token that acts as Decentraland’s currency.

Decentraland, a metaverse, a virtual world, is accessed via an avatar, with whom you may explore its ever-expanding network of digital places. Digital tokens help to participate in the activities such as purchasing digital art at the Crypto Valley Art Gallery, trading with other metaverse regulars in Bartertown, and learning at Decentraland University. However, unlike the gold coins seen in Mario or World of Warcraft, Decentraland’s tokens are designed to be valuable and transferable in the real world. Ethereum combines Decentraland’s economics, technology, and ethos, making the digital world as much an experiment in a digital decentralized paradise as it is a game designed for amusement.

What can you do in Decentraland?

Decentraland allows you to construct 3D worlds, avatars, and exhibit a variety of digital assets that you may monetize—the possibilities are unlimited!. You can roam about wherever you like in the virtual environment, or utilize the map to teleport to a specific spot.

Go to a virtual club, see NFT art displays, play a racing game, or even meet up with virtual friends—all from the comfort of your own space. All can be accomplished as avatars — your digital personality. Your avatar assists people in recognizing you, and track all your pals. NFT art shows and galleries abound in Decentraland. If you are a NFT collector or fan, you may participate in live auctions at the galleries and buy NFTs from a diverse spectrum of artists.

Every year, the metaverse also celebrates Art Week, a ten-day cultural extravaganza filled with exhibitions, music sessions, concerts, launch parties, and other activities.

How to buy land in Decentraland?

Each LAND plot is 16 meters by 16 meters and is represented as an NFT (non-fungible token). An NFT is a representation of a unique digital asset (here as a virtual real estate) on the blockchain.

The importance of community in Decentraland (and other metaverse) cannot be overstated. Virtual land, like real-world real estate, is valuable not just because of where it is located within each metaverse, but also because of how owners choose to develop the land. MANA (Decentraland’s digital currency) and land acquisitions are fueled by excitement about the potential of what metaverse might help to build.

Once you’ve been acquainted with the concept of Decentraland, you’ll want to purchase a 3D virtual land on which you may create vast interactive settings or districts for community members and be rewarded for it. To purchase parcels, simply follow the below process:

• Navigate to the Decentraland marketplace and choose “Parcels” from the “Land” category. To proceed without difficulty, you must login in with a Web3 wallet.
• After you’ve decided which packet to purchase, simply click on it to learn more about it and view it. This is known as an “Atlas view,” and it contains the total price of a piece in MANA, the owner’s name, availability, coordinates, and the opportunity to “Jump In” for a bird’s eye view.
• Now that you’ve decided, all that remains is for you to connect with Decentraland Marketplace by entering into your wallet, like Metamask.

The second method of purchasing land in Decentraland entails using open marketplace, such as OpenSea .

• Navigate to OpenSea. You may use this marketplace to buy parcels in Decentraland with MANA or even Ether.
• To purchase a Parcel in Decentraland from OpenSea, you must login using a Web3 wallet, such as Metamask.
• Once your wallet is connected that has enough Ether or MANA to cover your purchase, you may browse the OpenSea collection of Decentraland assets.
• After you’ve decided to buy an asset, just click the “Buy Now” button, sign the transaction & you’re done. You can check the status of your purchase both from Metamask & OpenSea.

In terms of which option is the best for purchasing a parcel in Decentraland, both of the ways described above are favored and trusted by millions of people. The Decentraland marketplace is a straightforward method for securing the acquisition of a property. It also enables prospective purchasers to view every aspect regarding the chosen property, such as the surrounding neighborhood and closeness to popular locations.

How does Decentraland work?

The Decentraland dapp helps keep track of real estate parcels that the LAND tokens specify.

The program uses the Ethereum blockchain to monitor ownership of this digital land, and it asks users to keep their MANA token in an Ethereum wallet in order to participate in its ecosystem.

Furthermore, developers can also experiment on Decentraland’s platform.

Architecture:
Decentraland comprises of numerous layered components constructed with Ethereum smart contracts.

Blockchain keeps the track of who owns which land pieces. Each LAND parcel has a unique position in the virtual world, an owner, and a link to a description file representing the content of the parcel.

The content layer governs what happens within each parcel and comprises the following files:

• Content Files - All static audio and graphics are referenced in these files.
• Script Files – Define the location and behaviour of the linked material
• Interaction Definition – Interactions such as gestures, voice chat, and messaging

Finally, the real-time layer supports social interactions inside Decentraland via user avatars.

What is MANA?

MANA is an ERC20 token that adds fuel to the Decentraland’s virtual ecosystem & economy. It helps users to buy LAND plots as well as pay for in-game products and services. When you acquire LAND, Decentraland destroys the MANA you used to buy it. Initially, the Decentraland team sold each piece of LAND for 1000 MANA.

Check out all metaverse dapps listed on The Dapp List.

Resources

https://docs.decentraland.org/