1 / 9The metaverse or virtual universe is yet to be fully developed, but has already become a hotspot of deal activities. Brands, individuals and influencers are increasingly involved in the development of the metaverse where people can do everything from shopping to even attending events or concerts through their digital avatars. (Image: Shutterstock)
2 / 9The three major metaverse projects that have seen a rush of land deals are: The Sandbox, Decentraland and Axie Infinity. The Sandbox is a blockchain-based virtual world; Decentraland is an ethereum-based, 3-D universe and Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn gaming platform. (Image: Shutterstock)
3 / 9Metaverses are attracting a lot of attention from non-fungible token (NFT) collectors and crypto enthusiasts. Buyers get an NFT title for the real estate purchased on the metaverse. The number of high-value land deals that have taken place in 2021 highlight the growing interest. Let's take a quick look at the big deals. (Image: Shutterstock)
4 / 9In a record deal in the last week of November, metaverse real estate developer Republic Realm bought a virtual piece of land for a whopping $4.3 million on the gaming platform, The Sandbox. The digital land was purchased from videogame developer Atari SA. Republic Realm and Atari have indicated that they plan to develop multiple such pieces of virtual real estate in partnership in the future. (Image: Shutterstock)
5 / 9The second-largest land deal in the virtual universe was by Canadian decentralised finance (DeFi) firm, Tokens.com. The DeFi firm made a $2.43 million purchase in Decentraland metaverse and took ownership of virtual land measuring 6,090 sq. ft. In Decentraland's native currency MANA, the transaction was valued at 618,000. The land will be used to boost e-commerce services and fashion brands by hosting fashion shows. (Image: Shutterstock)
6 / 9The third biggest land deal on the metaverse was on the NFT-focused crypto project runner, Axie Infinity. One of the players on the game paid $2.3 million to grab ownership of what the Axie team calls ‘A Genesis land Plot.’ The transaction was executed in November 2021 with 500 ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. (Image: Shutterstock)
7 / 9Individual plot sales are not the only deals popular on the metaverse platforms. In February 2021, Axie Infinity sold nine plots of land, all from the rare Genesis Plots, for 888 ETH ($1.5 million then). They are worth around $3.86 million now. Each piece of land was worth $166,000, and nine NFTs were issued for the sales. At the time, Axie Infinity was the first to sell land as NFTs. (Image: Shutterstock)
8 / 9In June 2021, blockchain-backed game, Decentraland sold a piece of virtual land for $913,228.20 (1.29 million MANA at the time) to digital real estate developer Republic Realm. The metaverse land is 16 acres in size and comprises 259 units of land. Republic Realm now holds 2,500 virtual land plots in total. (Image: Shutterstock)
9 / 9Another big deal in June was in Decentraland with blockchain protocol Boson purchasing virtual land on the platform for $704,000. Boson intends to develop the land into a virtual mall to facilitate the buying and selling of digital assets on the game itself. The mall will feature some leading brands and enable them to sell in the new retail space. (Image: Shutterstock)
