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Decentraland: The Digital Real Estate
By Vishakha Thakur
The metaverse platform Decentraland got a major boost in popularity after Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta. From digital transport systems to movie theatres and hotels, anything that is available in the physical world can be found here. It began as a pixelated 2D grid where users could buy pixels and has now grown into an experience where everything is in 3D.
What is Decentraland?
Decentraland is a decentralised virtual world built on the Ethereum blockchain. The platform was created in 2015 by Ariel Meilich and Esteban Ordano. Its first Initial Coin Offering was in 2017, with a public launch in February 2020. Users can buy and sell virtual plots of lands on this platform. Also, people can create their own micro worlds with virtual trees, aircraft and much more.
Plot of Land In Decentraland
There are around 90,601 plots of virtual land on the platform and each plot is in the form of an NFT known as LAND. Thus, a LAND trade is an NFT transaction. Once a plot of land is purchased, it can be used to create an entirely virtual city by the user. Multiple plots of land can be managed by Decentraland’s LAND Estates feature and the land groups sharing a similar theme can be clubbed as districts. This allows the formations of a community with similar interest. A voting system known as Agora allows users to gain more control of the developments in their districts.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
LAND in Decentraland can be bought using a cryptocurrency known as MANA, which is completely decentralised. All transactions within this virtual world are done using MANA and Ownership of land is tracked via the Ethereum blockchain and users are required to hold their MANA tokens in an Ethereum wallet. The platform allows designers to build their world using animation and interactions.
There are broadly three layers built using Ethereum smart contracts. First, the ledger tracking ownership of land purchases is maintained in the consensus layer. Second, the content layer controls the distribution of the parcels and renders content such as audio, visuals and voice chat. Third, all peer-to-peer connections, like social interactions, within Decentralised are done through the real-time layer.
Overall, the ability to own a plot of land, rent it out, build on it, and design houses, bars, gardens, parks and more makes Decentraland unique. Users can even attend and host virtual concerts or sports games in the virtual world. The platform has hosted notable events in the past few years.
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