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What Is Decentraland (MANA)?
Luis Clark
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Luis Clark
What Is Decentraland (MANA)?
Decentraland is a three-dimensional virtual reality gaming platform, widely considered as the ideal metaverse iteration. With more people spending more time in virtual worlds for work and leisure, decentraland mana seamlessly integrates several notable Web3 concepts, such as blockchain gaming, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the metaverse, into a single gaming environment, allowing players to earn while participating in activities.
Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano, two developers, founded Decentraland in 2015 to create a shared virtual world. However, the platform is now managed by the Decentraland Foundation and the Decentraland DAO – a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) that governs the platform and votes on its future direction.
Decentraland mana began as a gaming ecosystem and has since grown into an all-encompassing metaverse environment. The decentralized platform aims to democratise the metaverse by allowing players to buy digital real estate in the virtual world while exploring the environment and engaging in various activities. It has evolved to include interactive applications, in-app payments, and even the capacity for players to communicate via a peer-to-peer channel.
Additionally, Decentraland users get to create and monetize content. Even more impressive is that the virtual reality platform allows users to own virtual real estates that are basically unique codes. These lands can be purchased, developed, leased or even transfer full ownership to other Decentraland users.
A conventional iteration of the Metaverse project, Decentraland is Second Life – a player-focused gameplay that allows users to assume any identity or personality of their choice.
Decentraland is not only focused on playing games or exploring virtual reality. It also features a trading hub called Decentraland Marketplace. Here, users can initiate land auctions and trade virtual goods and services that can be sold and exchanged on this virtual reality platform. Even more so, Decentraland’s virtual world enables players to develop user avatars. These are highly customisable as users can select their preferred appearance as well as apparels.
These virtual reality platforms have become the beacon for the fast-rising metaverse ecosystem. Now, other virtual worlds aim to follow in its footsteps. Another upcoming virtual reality platform is The Sandbox, which also builds virtual plots of land for users to interact and explore. Both projects are active on popular social media platforms with huge followings.
How Does Decentraland Work?
Decentraland’s main objective, as previously said, is to enable users to access a digital world and buy virtual real estate. Players can buy land token (LAND) — a non fungible token representing digital land ownership. These NFTs are purchased with MANA, the platform’s native token. MANA is one of the market’s most popular and valuable cryptocurrencies.
Decentraland’s application is designed to track real estate parcels, which, as previously stated, are defined by LAND. Its software employs blockchain technology to track ownership of all digital and parcel assets, with users required to keep MANA in their wallets to interact with the ecosystem.
Decentraland’s code is also available to platform developers who want to create animations and interactions in the virtual world.
Decentraland is divided into three sections in terms of architecture:
- The consensus layer: This layer maintains a ledger that tracks ownership of land parcels. Whenever a LAND-based transaction is processed, it is recorded in this layer.
The content layer: This layer controls everything that happens within each LAND parcel. It includes different files: content files (which reference all visuals and audio), script files (which define content placement and behaviour), and interaction files (which implement P2P communications like voice chat, gesturing, and messaging.
Weaknesses of Decentraland
Being a virtual reality platform, its primary weakness stems from its development on the Ethereum blockchain. While Ethereum is arguably the largest blockchain, its size has its drawbacks.
The fact that transaction fees can be quite high sometimes is the most significant of Ethereum’s flaws. The network has become extremely congested, and gas prices have exceeded $1.
How is MANA Created?
Before delving into the dynamics of how the digital asset is created, new users may wonder, what is Decentraland MANA?
MANA, the native token of Decentraland, is a proof-of-work (PoW) coin. This means that the asset is created through a process known as mining, similar to PoW coins such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC).
Network participants would require high-quality Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) to mine MANA token. Mining is critical because it is how MANA-based transactions are recorded on the Ethereum blockchain. Miners receive MANA tokens in exchange for their efforts.
It should also be noted that the Decentraland DAO has an off-chain voting system for project proposals. This allows LAND and MANA owners to have a say in the project’s direction.
Which Blockchain Does Decentraland (MANA) Use?
Decentraland was built on the Ethereum blockchain; it does not have its own layer-0 blockchain and instead processes transactions through smart contracts hosted on the Ethereum blockchain. Layer-0 blockchains are the bedrock on which all other blockchain technology is built.
Decentraland can also use the blockchain to store and verify transaction details about LAND ownership and content. The virtual world’s content is hosted and delivered to users via a network of community-owned content servers.
The LAND contract on Ethereum records any changes to a parcel of LAND, such as changes in content or ownership transfers and land auctions. Also, plots of land in Decentraland are also recorded on this smart contract.
How To Use MANA
The MANA token from Decentraland has several functions. Here are some cases:
- LAND purchases: The primary function of MANA is to purchase LAND parcels in Decentraland.
- Staking: MANA can also be staked in a cryptocurrency staking protocol to earn returns. This is an excellent alternative use for investors looking to earn passive income.
- Trading: MANA, as a cryptocurrency, can be traded with speculators hoping to profit from price fluctuations.
- Governance: Ownership of MANA grants users access to the Decentraland DAO, where they can vote on updates to the platform.
How to Buy MANA?
Are you looking to buy decentraland, Binance is our top recommendation. The world’s largest exchange provides high liquidity and a minimum deposit of $2 for new users looking to buy digital assets. Here’s how to purchase MANA on the exchange:
Sign up
Go to the Binance home page and click the “Register now” button. Binance allows traders to sign up using their email addresses, phone numbers, or Google accounts – the former two being the most convenient.
Enter a mobile number or email address, create a strong password, and continue. A code will be sent to the email address, and the trader must click on it to access their account.
ID verification
Binance is a regulated exchange. As a result, users would be required to verify their identities to access its features, which include buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
To finish the ID verification process, navigate to the exchange’s “Identification” tab. Enter the necessary information (including personal information), provide proof of address, and show a government-issued ID card.
Buy MANA
Proceed to purchase MANA after verifying ID. To do this, Navigate to the “Buy Crypto” section and select “MANA” from the list of available options.
Enter the preferred payment method (debit cards, wire transfers, peer-to-peer (P2P) trading, or a third-party payment processor such as Paxos or Banxa).
Once the chosen payment channel has been initiated, the trader can complete the process by entering their account or card information. Enter the desired purchase amount,, and the process will be completed in less than a minute.
How to Store MANA?
MANA, like all cryptocurrencies, is stored in a crypto wallet. Crypto wallets function similarly to bank accounts and traditional wallets, allowing users to store their coins and conveniently process transactions. Because cryptocurrencies do not exist in physical form, digital wallets store the private keys of investors – a combination that allows them to confirm transactions.
There are various types of digital wallets:
- Hardware wallets: These wallets store investors’ public and private keys off the internet. As a result, they are highly impossible to hack. The trade-off, however, is that they don’t process transactions quickly.
- Software wallets: These are the most convenient to use as they store the keys on the internet and process transactions quickly. However, they are also very prone to hacks and malware. Investors must ensure that their devices are free of bugs.
Paper wallets: These are sheets of paper with the wallet addresses of investors written on them. Some also come with QR codes that can be scanned easily to process transactions. Although paper wallets can’t be hacked, they can also be lost. So investors have to use them carefully.
Fixed Best Place to Stake MANA
While there are several places to stake MANA, Crypto Earn appears to be the best of the bunch. Crypto.com, one of the market’s most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, launched the staking platform.
MANA investors can use Crypto Earn to stake their coins and earn between 3% and 5% in annual percentage yield (APR). This is significantly higher than other staking platforms, so investors have a better chance of profiting from this service.
Crypto Earn is also ideal because it allows for staking flexibility. Users can choose flexible staking, which allows them to access and move their assets whenever they want. They can also select fixed staking periods, during which their coins are locked in Crypto Earn for a set time.
What You Need to Know About the Future Of MANA?
Many people believe that MANA is the future of crypto in the metaverse. It has already seen increased adoption alongside platforms such as Axie Infinity and The Sandbox. Among the many advantages of Decentraland is that the platform isn’t just for gaming; it allows businesses and individuals to organise activities and participate in various immersive experiences. And with the possibility of earning real money, Decentraland is one of the pillars of blockchain gaming.
The platform is expected to grow even further, as the metaverse becomes more mainstream.
Conclusion: Should You Put Your Money in MANA?
MANA appears to be a viable investment at present. The asset is linked to the Decentraland platform, which many consider being the best metaverse iteration for the crypto space. Decentraland has made significant progress despite being in its infancy. Several major corporations, including JPMorgan and Samsung, have already purchased LAND parcels in the universe.
As the world continues to embrace digital assets and the metaverse, Decentraland’s adoption is expected to skyrocket, which is bullish news for MANA investors.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
Decentraland and MANA are related to the same platform, so they are similar. However, while Decentraland is the platform for virtual universes, MANA is its native token. MANA exists primarily within the Decentraland ecosystem.
Decentraland was designed by Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano. However, the platform is currently run by the Decentraland Foundation and the Decentraland DAO.
2022 has been quite the bearish year for all markets, including cryptocurrencies. MANA has lost 76.5% of its value this year alone. However, analysts believe that the bear market could end soon, with many pinning MANA at a possible price peg of $1.5 by the end of 2022.
No, Meta doesn’t own Decentraland. While the social media giant is pushing into collectibles and the metaverse, it is doing so by building its own platform, not acquiring Decentraland.
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