Decentraland (MANA)

Decentraland MANA cryptocurreny red pyramid token logo

Last updated 09/07/2021

Official website: https://decentraland.org/

What is Decentraland (MANA)

Decentraland (MANA) is an ERC-20 token powered by the Ethereum network. Launched in May 2017, the project has pooled interest not only for investors but technology enthusiasts and gaming fanatics. This trifecta of attention has created enough interest to fuel the token's ascension in price and marketcap into the leading 100 coins.

Decentraland functions as a virtual reality platform which offers its users the opportunity to explore, experience and interact within Genesis City, the core digital landscape of Decentraland. The protocol seeks to incentivise a worldwide ecosystem of users who can buy and sell digital real estate, play interactive-apps and navigate in-world payments and games.

The map is broken down into seperated districts including Decentraland University, multiple marketplaces, Genesis Plaza, Amusement Parks, Vegas City and much more.

Decentraland - A Roblox-Style World to do Real Business

Having your own land within Decentraland, namely Genesis City provides an entirely new platform built for businesses, individuals and content creators. This new landscape enables its users to commerce in-application and real-world products and services. It also provides a medium for users to stage performances, host experiences and other artistic endeavours.

The virtual space is calculated into its own unit of measurement referred to as parcels and offers the functionality to be resold, mortgaged and rented.

The token functionality is divided into two that serve different purposes:

MANA - An ERC-20 token used to facilitate LAND purchases within Genesis City., including virtual goods and services.
LAND - An ERC-721 that represents ownership of land parcels. These are more commonly referred to as Non-Fungible tokens (NFT's) and are used to purchase 3D Virtual space within Genesis City. ERC-721 is a token standard and a subset of Ethereum tokens maintained in ETH smart contracts.

The platform's infrastructure is fully decentralized and permanent unlike other virtual sites or similar experiences. In the current gaming and entertainment space, users assemble, share content and play games on large platforms such as Facebook, Minecraft and World of Warcraft. The develpoing team behind Decentraland believe that a decentralised network will encourage users to see multiple benefits compared to centralised services. Participants will be able to receive rewards and prizes from tranactions that take place within the ecosystem.

The organisation uses an InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) to maintain and record the landscape on the ETH network. This stores the data and connects the concensus layer within the network. Users can engage with objects and other players in the traversable virtual platform through this real-time layer. All communications through this layer are managed via peer-to-peer (P2P) connections, with nodes and servers hosted by landowners or third-parties.

Roadmap

The future of the project and/or any changes are determined and enacted by its users and stakeholders. The network uses a governance system referred to as a fully functional Decentralized Autonomous Organisation. In turn, it provides users who hold MANA the opportunity and power to vote on policy updates, land auctions and contribute toward new proposals. To learn of its regular updates and new releases, visit their Blog and view the official Decentraland Roadmap.

The Stone Age

The Stone Age marks the launch of the project in June 2015. This stage represents the first proof of concept of the Decentraland ecosystem. LAND is created and modelled on a 2D pixelated grid, using a proof-of-work (PoW) algorithm. When mining a block, users are assigned the pixel at the virtual coordinates detailed in the block template. It's exclusively a browser-only client featuring a visual representation of the virtual world.

The Bronze Age

Launched at the start of 2017, Decentraland set about building a 3D landscape space. Instead of pixelated colours, the blockchain stored hash data containing the full content, graphic and visual description.

The Iron Age

Blockchain-based smart contracts will now track parcel owners in the virtual world instead of proof-of-work mining. The owner can design the content and behaviour of that region of land, and cryptographically exchange ownership to other paricipants or smart contracts. Some of the main atrributes of this development include:

A P2P network to enable users to communicate via messaging, audio avatar characters, items and further features.
A micropayment infrastructure to establish the in-world ecosystem for cryptocurrency micropayments.
A land management user interface to allow artists to design and build experiences for in-game visitors.
A Virtual Reality (VR) programme srcipting language in preparation for recent advances in technologies like Ethereum (ETH), IPFS and VR headsets.

All future proposals including plans to launch mobile compatibility are listed on their website at: governance.decentraland.io

Team

The two key figures behind Decentraland (MANA) are Founder Esteban Ordano and Project lead Ariel Meilich, who both continue to serve the project as advisors taking a step down from their initial key roles.

Esteban Ordano attained leadership skills as former Head of IT for the South American Business Forum. Esteban’s knowledge of Cryptocurrency and software development can be attributed from his previous endeavours as a software engineer for Bitpay and as an Independent software consultant.

Ex-Project lead Ariel Meilich has given flight to many start-up companies, namely his own online translation agency and Benchrise INC an IT company. Both business models focus on pairing entities on mutual interests and connections. Working at Benchrise and having an education in Philosophy and neuroscience equipped Ariel with the ideal tools to work on building and designing Decentraland.

Manuel Araoz and Yemel Jardi are both integral Board Members who hold long-standing history and experience in the blockchain space. Araoz is CTO at the leading smart contract security firm Zepplin Solutions, and also worked as a Tech Engineer at Bitpay. Jardi is long-term decentralised developer, working on projects such ChangeTip, before it was bought by Airbnb as its micropayment system.

Where to Store Decentraland (MANA)

To enter and participate in Decentraland, users must integrate their wallet to their web browser. A popular option for this service is MetaMask. DApps built on the Ethereum network, such as Decentraland use Ethereum (ETH) to power transactions. Players therefore need to add ETH to their wallet to interact with the virtual world. You can Buy Ethereum on our platform here.

You can store your MANA in Exodus along with various other cryptocurrencies. Exodus is free and easy to use and can be downloaded to either a desktop or mobile device. Exodus will then be tied to whichever device it has been downloaded to which will also be the device you will use to access and manage your crypto assets.

As Decentraland (MANA) tokens are built on the Ethereum network, they can be stored in any wallet compatible with Ethereum-based (ERC20) transactions. Alternative options to keep your MANA secure can therefore include the leading hardware wallet providers Ledger and Trezor, as well as My EtherWallet.

Where to Buy and Sell Decentraland (MANA)

You can Buy & Sell Decentraland (MANA) by heading over to the Buy Coins page of our website. Decentraland (MANA) is available on BC Bitcoin trading against major fiat currencies: GBP and EUR. Buying Decentraland (MANA) has never been easier, simply place your order and provide your wallet address. Once your payment arrives Decentraland (MANA) will be sent directly to your wallet. If you choose to Sell Decentraland (MANA) you can send us the coins and receive a payment to your bank account. Details and valuation can be found on the Sell Coins page.

Decentraland (MANA) Resources

Website: https://decentraland.org/
Block explorer: https://etherscan.io/token/0x0f5d2fb29fb7d3cfee444a200298f468908cc942
Twitter: https://twitter.com/decentraland
Github: https://github.com/decentraland

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is intended for informational purposes only. It is the readers responsibility to complete their own research and due diligence.