blockchain gaming, the sandbox, crypto gaming, metaverse

What is The Sandbox (SAND)?

Sandbox (SAND) is a cryptocurrency used within the crypto game The Sandbox, a virtual world that allows users to create, own and earn money as well as explore the world. The Sandbox is based on blockchain technology and offers a decentralized platform where users can create their own digital worlds and games.

SAND serves as the currency within The Sandbox universe. Users can use SAND to buy property, play games, buy equipment or customize their avatars. It is also used for democratic governance, meaning that owners of SAND can vote on proposals that affect the development and policies of the game. The players have an ownership in the game they play, quite simply.

Big price increase in 2021

SAND was one of the highest-returning cryptocurrencies in 2021, much helped by the gaming and metaverse trend that gained popularity. The game received a lot of attention, and several well-known brands and individuals experimented with purchasing digital lands or digital real estate within the game, including Warner Music, Binance Ubisoft, Atari, Gucci, Lacoste, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, TIME magazine and more.


Founded under a different name back in 2011 by founders Adrien Duermaël, Arthur Madrid and Sébastien Borget, The Sandbox actually started as a company that developed mobile games. In 2012, Sandbox was first launched as a mobile game and developed further in the following years, in addition to other mobile games. In 2018, the company was acquired by the Hong-Kong-based software company Animoca Brands, which at the time shifted focus in to developing blockchain-based games. Animoca Brands was listed in Australia since between 2015 and 2020. They have stakes in a number of other crypto games and crypto companies in addition to Sandbox.

Why invest in SAND?

There are two reasons to buy and hold the cryptocurrency SAND. One is as a means of in-game transactions. The second is if you want to invest in SAND because you believe that The Sandbox will be a long term success or because you want to speculate in the crypto-gaming niche. Like many other cryptocurrencies, the price of SAND is subject to market fluctuations, and investors may buy and sell SAND in hopes of making a profit based on price changes.

Blockchain-gaming

The idea behind blockchain-gaming is that you can integrate blockchains and cryptocurrency into games, so that you can integrate ownership of assets within the games with the larger crypto-economy. In addition, the players can be allowed to participate in the management of the game's further development. In a game, for example, you can earn crypto which can be used to buy other assets in the game, or you could cash out of the game and exchange it for other currencies. When a game can have its own internal economy, the players can also share in the ownership of the game. The possibilities are many. You can read more about crypto gaming in this article.

Metaverse - Megatrend or short-lived hype?

Decentraland is also part of a larger trend known as the "metaverse". Metaverses are digital worlds, or games, where users can meet each other digitally, play games and do business in a virtual world. Metaverses can be open-world games like Decentraland. But there are also other actors in the metaverse space that encompass more than the game genre. Can you, for example, work in the metaverse? Can you nurture relationships with friends, date, go to job interviews, or go to school? The possibilities are many.

This approach to digital interaction has become increasingly popular and a digital trend. For example, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wants to create such a metaverse, which will basically be a further development of the internet we know today, and that is, among other things, the reason why Facebook changed its name to Meta. At the same time, the metaverse concept has also received criticism and has been met with scepticism. It remains to be seen how big this trend will be in the longer term.


24/04/2024
Should not be considered financial advice. Crypto may involve high risk.