Decentraland is an Ethereum-based program that aims to incentivize a global network of users to govern a shared virtual environment. Decentraland is an entirely decentralized, blockchain-based 3D virtual world in which anyone can own and develop their own virtual land, as well as walk around and interact with what other users have created and other people who are also exploring Decentraland at the same time.

The environment could include everything from a static 3D landscape to interactive products, buildings, art, games, or massive events attended by thousands of people. In Decentraland, the community owns the land, giving them control over their projects and the ability to build their own tools, games, and marketplaces.

History of Decentraland

Decentraland was founded in 2015 by Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano, and it has been in development since then. In 2017, digital land plots sold for around $20, and MANA tokens cost $0.02. Genesis City, the game’s initial map, comprised 90,601 pieces of land. In 2017, it raised $26 million in an initial coin offering (ICO). Since its inception, Decentraland has progressed through several phases.

In a prior development stage known as the “Stone Age,” the project began as a proof of concept for transferring ownership of the digital real estate to users on a 2D grid using a blockchain. In late 2016, the developers began constructing a 3D virtual environment divided into land parcels using a modified version of the Bitcoin blockchain during the “Bronze Age.”

In August 2017, Decentraland raised its initial funding through an ICO. With the start of Decentraland, around 2.8 billion MANA were minted. Following the ICO, all extra MANA tokens are sold at predetermined intervals via a smart contract at an inflation rate of 8% per year. Since the ICO, the firm has held LAND auctions in what it calls a “Terraform” event.

The first auction lasted one week, beginning on December 15, 2017. LAND, like real land, has been sold at auctions at different prices and for many reasons, such as closeness to highways, distance from Decentraland’s core, and proximity to districts.

Since the inaugural Terraform event, a secondary LAND marketplace has emerged, allowing MANA holders and LAND owners to purchase and sell LAND. In the secondary market, the MANA price of LAND is determined by the value buyers are prepared to pay, and sellers are willing to sell for. Decentraland does not influence pricing or sales.

The ICO raised a little over $26 million, and its circulation began a few months later. It reached an all-time high of 18 cents in January 2018, indicating that the price is no longer at its all-time high. The price is now approximately 5 cents. Nonetheless, there is a greater than 100% increase above the ICO price.

Stages in the Evolution of Decentraland

Decentraland has gone through several stages in its history since its inception. Here are some significant Decentraland milestones.

Stone Age

The “Stone Age” was the first step in the journey of Decentraland. The Stone Age was essentially an attempt to implement Decentraland’s original proof of concept. Initially, digital real estate was implemented as a pixel on an infinite 2D grid, with each pixel containing metadata identifying the owner and defining the colour of the pixel.

Bronze Age

The next stage, the “Bronze Age,” began in late 2016 and was centered on learning how Decentraland operates. The Bronze Age saw the introduction of the 3D virtual world with land parcels. Each parcel of land’s owner may readily associate the parcel with a hash reference. Users exploring the virtual world could use this reference to download the file containing the parcel’s content, which defines the models and textures to be displayed at that point, using a Distributed Hash Table (DHT) and BitTorrent.

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the most recent stage in the development of the Decentraland marketplace. Decentraland’s current focus is on creating a social experience with an autonomous economy that includes features of content distribution and land ownership. The goal is to implement peer-to-peer connectivity, script engaging content, and build a quick cryptocurrency payment mechanism for in-world transactions. Developers can use Decentraland to develop and distribute programs, as well as to generate revenue.

The Decentraland Framework

The world of Decentraland is divided into small sections known as Parcels. Each Parcel is 16m by 16m (52ft by 52ft for those unfamiliar with the metric system), and it’s the smallest amount of land you can own. However, if one owns several plots adjacent to each other, they can be joined to form an Estate. In addition, certain large regions are assigned a specific theme, forming a District. The Genesis Plaza is the most notable example.

With the launch of the Iron Age, Decentraland introduced two functional digital assets for developing an independent economy: LAND and MANA.

LAND is a non-fungible token that divides Decentraland, utilizing ERC-721, an Ethereum development standard that explains how to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In contrast, the majority of fungible tokens on Ethereum adhere to the ERC-20 standard. Each LAND token has a distinct set of coordinates in Decentraland, and its value is determined by its proximity to other LAND. Parcels of LAND can also be subdivided into themed communities based on mutual interests, known as “Districts.”

Conversely, MANA is the digital asset that acts as the unit of account for determining the price of LAND. It is a Decentraland coin of sorts. MANA is useful for making payments for products and services in Decentraland.

In an effort to fully decentralize the protocol, Decentraland handed ownership of the smart contracts to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The DAO empowers users to influence protocol modifications by allowing them to vote with their assets.

How to be a part of Decentraland?

All you need is a browser that runs on a Windows or macOS machine, preferably Chrome or Firefox.

Although this is all you need to start exploring Decentraland, if you want to fully immerse yourself in the universe or buy LAND and other valuables on the marketplace, you’ll also need an Ethereum wallet, such as Metamask or Mist, loaded with MANA and ETH. You can also spend MANA in the world to gain access to extra content while thanking the producers, but you’ll need ETH to cover transaction costs.

In Conclusion,

Decentraland is a blockchain-based virtual world where users can create their own tools, games, content, and marketplaces.
The community owns the land in Decentraland, giving them power over their creations. This allows users to create a digital experience in which they genuinely own their LAND.
MANA tokens are used to purchase in-world land, products, and services. They are used to encourage content development and user adoption.

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