How to buy land in the metaverse?

The WhiteBIT team and the WOO Network (WOO) project have prepared a series of educational articles. In this one, we explore the “digital lands” and explain why buying real estate in the metaverse may interest a progressive investor.

Over the past couple of years, investors have been interested not in the real estate located on the picturesque coast or in large cities but the one located in the metaverses. Purchasing a virtual property is no different from a classic purchase in the real world.

When Facebook announced its name change to Meta in June 2022, the value of digital real estate increased. MetaMetrics Solutions estimates that its sales could double this year. Now Meta is actively developing its project — Horizon Worlds, where users can interact with each other, do their routine and create objects and worlds.

What is digital real estate?

The Metaverse is like a virtual sandbox where users themselves create the space. It’s nothing more than pixels on a computer screen, but the value is growing. For example, Decentraland sales exceeded $500M in 2021. In 3D cities, users can simulate real life: go shopping, play games, work, and attend virtual concerts and conferences.

Investing in digital land means the owner can build a public space to rent or resell at a better price. Of course, investing in the metaverse is still considered a precarious investment. But why has it become so popular? There are a number of reasons for this:

There are only a few developed platforms where you can buy or sell digital real estate. These include Decentraland, The Sandbox, Star Atlas, Nifty Island, and Axie Infinity.
The price depends on the plot’s location, as in the real world. Only in this case, the value is measured by the traffic.
Companies pay an architect to design a space and a game developer to create it.
The Metaverse has a huge potential for advertising and forming partnerships with brands. Virtual malls can serve as 3D showcases for companies like Amazon or Etsy.

It seems unbelievable, but building a functioning business in the metaverse is possible. This will require purchasing a digital site and its organization.

Even though Web3 is still in its early stages, digital parties are in full swing! Snoop Dogg organized the largest of them in The Sandbox, a decentralized gaming ecosystem. In The Sandbox, players can create voxel assets and monetize their gaming experience using a digital avatar.

Large companies are also actively involved in the metaverses. In the spring of 2022, Decentraland hosted a fashion week. Brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, and Estée Lauder were also present.

How to buy a plot in the metaverse?

Let’s find out using the example of one of the largest virtual gaming spaces — Decentraland.

The main element that underlies the virtual world’s economy is non-fungible tokens (NFTs). They serve as ownership rights to any digital items and property users create. On the other hand, cryptocurrencies act as the internal “currency” of the metaverses and have all the properties of “digital property”.

The land marketplace in Decentraland.

The Decentraland marketplace displays a map with squares available for purchase. The green squares are where the user will appear when joining the game. Blue squares are available for sale. The size of the minimum virtual site in Decentraland is 16×16 meters. The price is displayed in MANA, the site’s native token.

You can look around before buying. By clicking on the “Jump In” button, you will be taken to the selected area. The game is free to play, but microtransactions are required to unlock additional building elements.

Since digital land is an NFT, it can also be bought directly from OpenSea.