Hassan Maishera
MANA and SAND Rally Higher
The cryptocurrency market has underperformed over the past few weeks, losing more than 10% of its total market cap in the process. Bitcoin continues to struggle below the $60k level, down by nearly 20% from the all-time high of $69k it achieved two weeks ago.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, also suffered some losses over the past two weeks, losing more than 10% of its value in the process. At press time, ETH is trading just above the $4,200 level.
Despite the bears currently in control, the metaverse tokens MANA and SAND have been rallying. The two coins have added more than 30% to their values over the past few days, reaching new all-time highs in the process.
SAND, the native token of The Sandbox ecosystem, set a new all-time high at $8.27 a few hours ago. The Sandbox is a blockchain-based virtual world allowing users to create, build, buy and sell digital assets in the form of a game. The platform combines the powers of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to create a decentralized platform for a thriving gaming community.
The coin has rallied by more than 25% over the past 24 hours. The rally comes as The Sandbox prepares to launch its multi-week play-to-earn Alpha event over the coming few days. In its announcement last week, The Sandbox said, “Get ready for The Sandbox Alpha! Launching November 29th. Anyone can experience the Alpha hub and three experiences. 5,000 Alpha passes giving access to content, NFT, and 1,000 SAND!”
Since the announcement, SAND has added more than 200% to its value over the past week, making it one of the best-performing coins in the cryptocurrency space. Another reason why the SAND is rallying can be attributed to Adidas talking about a possible partnership with The Sandbox.
The German sports apparel manufacturer has pointed out that it is looking to enter the metaverse space, and The Sandbox could be the perfect partner for this project.
MANA, the native coin of the Decentraland ecosystem, also rallied to a new all-time high over the past few hours. MANA touched a new all-time high of $5.44 a few hours ago after rising by more than 30% over the past 24 hours. As a result of the rally, MANA outperformed numerous cryptocurrencies in the broader market.
Decentraland is a decentralized VR (virtual reality) world built on the Ethereum blockchain. In this virtual world, users can buy land, build it, monetize and immerse into the applications and content built by other platform users. What makes Decentraland unique, unlike other VR projects, is its decentralized nature. Land and in-game currency are powered by the Ethereum blockchain, giving users complete ownership and promoting transparency.
MANA’s rally was caused by the recent massive adoption of the blockchain. Earlier this week, a Canadian investment firm that focuses on decentralized finance (DeFi) called Tokens.com purchased nearly $2.5 million worth of virtual land in the platform Decentraland.
According to the reports, Tokens.com purchased 116 parcels of virtual land for a total of 618,000 MANA, the native currency of Decentraland. Tokens.com claimed the purchase represented the largest transaction of its kind to date.
In its press release, Tokens.com said, “The estate will be developed to facilitate fashion shows and commerce within the exploding digital fashion industry. Metaverse Group also plans to establish partnerships with several existing fashion brands who are looking to connect with new audiences and expand their ecommerce offerings within the metaverse. Metaverse Group will collaborate with Decentraland to curate fashion projects and events on the estate.”
Digital land is valued by the foot traffic it receives and its proximity to brands located within the metaverse, and this latest development will attract numerous users to the Decentraland platform.
Metaverse Tokens Have Been Rallying Since Facebook Entered The Space
The metaverse-focused tokens have been performing excellently since Facebook announced that it has rebranded to Meta. The social media giant said it is going beyond social media to capture the value within the metaverse space.
At the time, Facebook said, “The metaverse will feel like a hybrid of today’s online social experiences, sometimes expanded into three dimensions or projected into the physical world. It will let you share immersive experiences with other people even when you can’t be together — and do things together you couldn’t do in the physical world. It’s the next evolution in a long line of social technologies, and it’s ushering in a new chapter for our company.”
Facebook’s entry into the metaverse space has led to positive performance from numerous metaverse-focused cryptocurrencies. MANA and SAND are some of the biggest beneficiaries of Facebook’s entry into the metaverse space as they are some of the leading players in the sector.
Over the past month, MANA’s price has soared by more than 590%, making it one of the best-performing coins in the cryptocurrency space. MANA was trading below $1 a month ago, but it is now trading close to the $6 mark.
The rally came at a time when the broader cryptocurrency is in a bearish trend, with Bitcoin, Ether and other leading cryptocurrencies underperforming. Year-to-date, MANA has added more than 7,000% to its value, making it one of the top performers in the market during that period.
SAND is the other metaverse coin that has experienced a massive rally due to Facebook’s entry into the sector. In the past month, SAND’s value has gone up by more than 900%, outperforming most of the cryptocurrencies within the top ten by market cap. A month ago, SAND was trading at $0.81 per coin. However, the cryptocurrency began to rally and is now trading above the $8 mark per coin.
SAND and MANA could experience further growth over the coming years as the adoption within the metaverse space is just starting. The metaverse space is expected to attract more investments and users over the coming months and years, and that could make MANA and SAND very attractive cryptocurrencies.
Their rallies have occurred independent of the broader cryptocurrency market’s performance, and the trend could continue over the coming weeks and months. However, if Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies rally higher over the coming weeks, then SAND and MANA’s values could soar higher too.
