The demand for NFT virtual real estate is becoming gradually more popular than other NFTs such as artwork, memes, trading cards, music, and so on. This, however, is not surprising, as the same is the reality in the real world; people will invest in landed property rather than pay for art.
Also, just like in the real world where landed properties are highly priced, so are NFT virtual properties. As such, this article takes a look at the top 8 most expensive virtual real estate properties in the metaverse space. But before we dive into the list, let’s quickly explain what the metaverse entails.
Understanding Virtual Real Estate
The metaverse, according to experts and gamers, is an immersive virtual reality experience that employs blockchain technology to purchase and totally own digital products. A player becomes an NFT owner when they make an in-game purchase and may freely own, sell, or transfer it from wallet to wallet.
Metaverses are blockchain-based, entirely decentralized digital worlds with virtual reality capability. When Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) announced its rebranding to Meta, the moniker soared in popularity.
In this industry, investors spotted another solid profit opportunity. Because the price of this field is rapidly increasing, it makes sense to look into it more.
Land is the one asset that never depreciates in real life. As a result, it is regarded as one of the most dependable asset types. Land functions similarly in the virtual world. The currency of a given metaverse is used to sell and buy land parcels and structures. Many digital worlds today provide similar options.
As the cryptocurrency sector grew in popularity, investors jumped at the chance and entered the metaverse with high hopes of making a profit. When the cost of a land plot rises, it might be sold at a higher price. Another alternative is to rent out a land parcel and earn passive income this way.
Top 8 Most Expensive Virtual Real Estate Properties
8. Genesis Plot
This virtual plot (with coordinates: -30; -11) was purchased sometime in July 2021, on the Ronin blockchain by a Lunacian user #3789512. It was acquired for a whopping sum of 300 $WETH, which is equivalent to $660,000.
Axie Infinity, the metaverse on which it was acquired, however, kept this information under wraps, but later revealed that they sold two other plots to the same buyer. These two other plots cost about 269 $WETH and 293 $WETH ($638k and $632k, respectively) at the time of acquisition.
7. Premium Estate
Another square plot was bought in the Decentraland metaverse. It has the number #144 out of 10,005, and an average price on OpenSea of 633.383 ETH. It was sold at 759,000 $MANA, although we currently do not know the buyer.
6. Coliseum
At the time of sale, Coliseum’s premium NFT asset in Decentraland was the fourth-largest NFT acquisition in history. It was purchased for $756,000 by an unknown wallet for 225,000 $MANA tokens.
5. Land Parcel #4247
I bet it sounds funny, but that’s the best description for this particular plot of virtual land. The plot is adjacent to Dragon City located inside of Decentraland, and was purchased on June 17, 2021, by an anonymous owner who is only identifiable by the wallet ‘xabefgf79b1749е0971cd80b880c4317c81e22ec3’.
Gamer Plaza, Nifty Passage, Crypto Valley, and other well-known locations within Decentraland are all close by, suggesting that it’s a highbrow area. The land parcel was reportedly sold for 1,300,000 $MANA (or the equivalent of $914,000 at the time), which was a considerable sum.
Because the Dragon City is recognized for being a “city overflowing with Chinese cultural treasures,” the location is ideal for Chinese-style architecture.
4. Hotel Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Marketplace BookLocal
This particular property was acquired for approximately 210,000 $MANA (or the equivalent of $1.09 million at the time of the sale). The sale was reported by Colin Wu, a Chinese journalist who claimed as of then, that the purchase ranked among one of the few highly priced properties in the Decentraland metaverse.
3. Genesis Plot
Genesis plots are extremely uncommon in Axie Infinity, and the metaverse in general. The 550 ETH lot was one of 220 out of 90,601 sold, puting it among the metaverse’s most costly sales.
As the metaverse’s real estate race heats up, a piece of virtual land just sold for $2.3 million on Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn gaming platform. It was the highest price for one of Axie’s Genesis Land plots ever, according to a tweet from the company. While the metaverse is still in its early stages, the real-estate conflicts are already heating up.
2. Fashion Street Estate
In Decentraland, a sought-after piece of property was sold for $2.4 million in cryptocurrency (618,000 $MANA). With Decentraland’s monthly users projected to hit 300,000, it’s no surprise that so many people and businesses want a piece of the action.
The firm Tokens.com, through its subsidiary Metaverse Group, paid 618,000 $MANA, Decentraland’s native cryptocurrency. As a result, the corporation purchased 116 plots measuring 6,090 square feet in the digital world’s Fashion Street neighborhood.
1. Sandbox Metaverse
At the top of the list is a parcel of virtual land that was acquired for $4.3 million in the Sandbox metaverse sometime in December 2021, making it the most expensive virtual real estate to date.
The acquisition, according to various reports, was led by a group of developers who go by the name “Republic Realm” from the video game company Atari (the mastermind behind RollerCoaster Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon, and all that simulation jazz!).
Interestingly, this acquisition was made barely a week after a sought-after parcel, Fashion Street Estate, sold for $2.4 million in Decentraland. The Sandbox acquisition quickly hi-jacked the spotlight to become the highest priced virtual property yet.
Top 3 Platforms for Virtual Real Estate Purchase
3. The Sandbox
It’s a virtual environment where gamers can use the native SAND token to create, control, and monetize their gaming experiences on the Ethereum blockchain. Players can generate digital assets in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), sell them on the market, and use Game Maker to incorporate them into games.
The Sandbox gives artists sole control of their creations in the form of NFTs and pays them for participating in ecosystem transactions and interactions such as transaction fees, staking, buying and selling game objects, among other things.
In addition, anyone can create fantastic 3D games for free with Game Maker, which requires no coding skills. The reason for this can be attributed to the fact that users can utilize visual scripting tools to build aesthetically appealing games in minutes. More so, there is a marketplace where users can upload, publish, and sell their creations generated using the platform.
For users who would prefer to buy and sell real estate, the metaverse provides them with plenty of opportunities to purchase rare plots popularized by these gaming events.
2. Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is one of the most popular and profitable blockchain games ever created. Do you remember the game ‘Pokemon Go’?
Axie Infinity, like Pokemon, is a charming NFT pet game that has fattened the wallets of crypto nerds and laypeople who would otherwise avoid the crypto market. By playing their game, players may earn AXS, the Axie token. It has been a huge success, with some reportedly quitting their jobs to pursue a career in the ‘play-to-earn’ economy.
Notably, Axie Infinity enables its users to use their tokens in its custom metaverse. On Axie Marketplace, the AXS token may be exchanged to ETH and used to purchase NFTs, which in turn can be used to purchase property in their metaverse. Axie is, however, known for their rarity and this further drives up their prices, so if you wanna head that way, make sure your pocket is ready to back you up.
1. Decentraland
Decentraland is a virtual reality platform that allows you to purchase property tracts. You may expand the plot by constructing and selling whatever you want on it. Decentraland, which was created in 2017, was one of the first to attempt to create a decentralized virtual reality based on Ethereum. Only 90,601 chunks of land are available, each measuring 16 square feet.
MANA, the ecosystem’s native token, has a supply of 2.2 billion units. There are 1.8 billion tokens in circulation right now. This platform is used by gamers, creators, and companies that want to take advantage of metaverse potential and have fun. With such a vast target audience, the currency is in high demand. This is what attracts people to Decentraland.
This particular metaverse has seen a massive rise in popularity and could be said to be synonymous to virtual real estate the same way Bitcoin is to cryptocurrency. Many people know this name and it keeps bringing in more and more people and giving them a shot at being someone who owns virtual real estate.
Conclusion
Many people do not realize that the way things are done in the metaverse is similar if not the same to real life. Digital real estate works the same way as physical real estate. Restrictions, demand and supply, and scarcity all drive the price of property up.
Metaverses with limited land plots available often are the most expensive, and if you noticed from our discussion above, just a handful of names kept popping up. If land is located next to a popular person or unique location, then the rates for these plots may be higher.
At the end of the day, it is clear that digital assets are a big deal and considered very profitable for both beginners and seasoned investors. Still, it is important to remember that no business is without risk, so weigh the odds before dipping your hand in the pot of gold.
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Source: Cryptocurrency - investing.com
