Decentraland MANA MANA

All You Need to Know about Decentraland (MANA)

In this article, we will have a closer look at Decentraland, a unique virtual reality and metaverse platform underpinned by the Ethereum blockchain. Decentraland allows users to create, experience, and monetize their own content and applications. Through the purchase of virtual land, known as LAND, community members can exercise full control over the environments they create and the applications they develop.

What is Decentraland (MANA)

Decentraland (MANA) is a virtual reality platform built on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchain where users can create, experience, and monetize content and applications. 

The platform features a finite, traversable, 3D virtual space called LAND, a non-fungible digital asset, as well as the fungible currency MANA that can be used in the Decentraland marketplace. This unique setup allows users to own and control their digital environments and applications, from static 3D scenes to more dynamic applications or games.

Brief History of Decentraland

Decentraland was launched in 2017 by Argentine blockchain professionals Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano. The platform started as a 2D project and slowly evolved into a 3D world. It attracted significant attention in 2017, raising more than $26 million in its initial coin offering (ICO). Since then, Decentraland has grown in popularity, especially amidst a surge of interest in NFTs in 2021. As of March 2023, Decentraland reportedly had a market valuation of $1.1 billion.

The Decentraland Metaverse

Within the Decentraland metaverse, users explore through their avatars, immersing themselves in a growing map of digital destinations. This digital universe fosters creativity and interaction, with digital art galleries, trading posts, and educational institutions, all accessible with digital tokens.

Digital Real Estate

Parcels of LAND in Decentraland represent digital real estate owned by users Adjacent parcels can be merged to form Estates, which can then be developed into interactive environments. Several crypto companies have established virtual offices and art galleries in Decentraland.

Content Creation

Decentraland provides tools for users to create their own 3D content, scenes, and environments. The platform offers an SDK (Software Development Kit) for developing these scenes. It also features a user-friendly Editor and other tools for arranging 3D models and allows for importing models from third-party tools.

Decentraland also offers integrated “Builder”, a visual editor, which lets you create custom scenes, item collections, and names. Scenes refer to the layout of digital items on your LAND. The Builder only contains basic functions, for the creation of more complex structures it is better to use Decentraland SDK or a third-party graphic tool.

The Role of Blockchain

Decentraland's reliance on the blockchain (Ethereum and Polygon) ensures the secure, transparent, and immutable nature of transactions within the platform. Each transaction and content piece is recorded on-chain, making it a ledger for all of the digital property you acquire in Decentraland.

Tokens in the Ecosystem

• MANA - A fungible ERC-20 token used mainly for acquiring digital assets, such as real estate, items, or content within the Decentraland ecosystem. Through MANA contributors can easily monetize their creations.
• LAND - A non-fungible ERC-721 token representing the unique parcels of LAND in Decentraland. Each parcel is defined by a set of cartesian coordinates and is therefore unique. LAND parcels can be bought or sold for MANA in the marketplace.

Decentraland Marketplace

The Decentraland Marketplace is the hub for trading and managing Decentraland assets. It provides a platform for users to buy, sell, and explore LAND parcels, unique avatar names, and digital wearables, which can range from clothing to accessories. 

Trading assets: The marketplace is designed to facilitate peer-to-peer trade, making it easy for users to sell or purchase digital assets. Users can list their LAND parcels, Estates, avatar names, or wearables for sale, setting their own price in MANA and expiration date for the offer. They can also purchase available assets listed for sale by others.

Exploration: The marketplace is also a tool to explore the metaverse of Decentraland. A map feature lets users see who owns what, with details about LAND parcels, Estates, wearables, and claimed avatar names.

LAND management: If you own LAND or Estate, the Marketplace is where you can manage these assets. Owners can give their LAND parcels and Estates unique names, public descriptions, and grant permissions to other users, allowing them to deploy on the owner's LAND.

Governance and Decentraland DAO

Decentraland's governance is maintained by a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), where MANA and LAND holders can vote on changes to the platform's protocol. This community-led governance model allows the platform's rules to evolve over time, reflecting the collective will of its user base.

Beyond the Decentraland DAO, an additional layer of governance exists in the form of the Security Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB, comprised of five community-elected members, holds the responsibility of overseeing the security of Decentraland's smart contracts, scrutinizing governance proposals, and managing bug reports. They have the authority to delay or reject proposals that could potentially have negative impacts on the Decentraland ecosystem.