Decentraland is a fully decentralized virtual world where users own virtual items, i.e., Land, goods, and services.
MANA is the governance token of Decentraland and is also used as the cryptocurrency of the virtual world that allows its investors to purchase digitally.
Read on for our in-depth guide on Decentraland, the MANA token, and learn more about how the world works and how to buy Decentraland (MANA).
What Is Decentraland (MANA)
Decentraland is an Ethereum-powered virtual reality platform where users create, experience, and monetize content and applications. They create avatars representing themselves to interact in the virtual world. Users can also purchase virtual real estate and create their own micro-worlds with virtual trees, aircraft, digital skyscrapers, movie theatres, and hotels, i.e., anything available in the physical world.
Decentraland was created by Esteban Ordano and its co founder Ariel Meilich, and the project launched in its current form in 2017.
Decentraland is the first fully decentralized world entirely owned by its users. The Decentraland system records ownership data through smart contracts operating on the Ethereum blockchain.
The system consists of three types of tokens.
These are:
Land
This is a non-fungible token (NFT) used to represent ownership of a piece of the virtual map in the Decentraland ecosystem. The Decentraland application is built on top of the Ethereum network to track the ownership of LAND. Users can purchase LAND in Decentraland with MANA, a fungible ERC-20 token.
Estate
These are connected adjacent plots of virtual Land that allow the owner to build higher. There is also the opportunity to take out a mortgage on an estate.
MANA
MANA is Decentraland’s native token used to buy real estate and virtual assets developed and sold by Decentraland users. It’s an Ethereum token used in system governance.
History of Decentraland (MANA)
Decentraland, the shared virtual world, was initially created in 2015 by Argentinians Esteban Ordano, a software engineer with extensive experience in cryptocurrency exchanges, and Ari Meilich, an entrepreneur who had worked as an analyst at Charles River Ventures.
Decentraland only offered its users pixels per proof of work (PoW) algorithm in its formative years, but it later evolved into a 3D world.
Following its beta launch in August 2017, the shared virtual world offered plots of Land selling for as little as $20.
In the wake of the 2020-2021 boom in NFT art, when digital real estate became desirable, investors rushed to buy Decentraland Land for more than $100,000.
How Decentraland Works
Since the launch of Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse, Decentraland has skyrocketed in value and popularity.
Ranked by total market cap as #41 of all cryptocurrencies, the current price of MANA is around $3.25 with a 24-hour trading volume of $642,719,924 and a market cap of $5,914,390,520.
It was initially launched with a supply of 2.8B, then land auctions and token burns reduced its total supply. MANA is currently estimated to have a total supply of 2.9B, of which $1.82B is in circulation.
Decentraland works by allowing its users to create MANA and engage in trading it by using fiat currency. They can use their debit cards to buy games, 3D sites, applications, gambling services, and anything a landowner can think of and trade with other users. There is no limit to what traders can do.
Besides being an outlet for creativity, Decentraland users can create income through advertising or leasing their Land.
Unlike other virtual worlds, Decentraland is not governed by a centralized system but by the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) through LAND, Estate, and MANA holders.
Decentraland is an Ethereum based software, so users need an Ethereum wallet to hold their MANA tokens to make the process functional. It uses Ethereum smart contracts and has several layered components:
The Consensus Layer
This manages the ledger that tracks the ownership of land plots. Each file contains descriptions of virtual plots concerning its owner and location within the virtual world.
The Content Layer
This layer controls what happens within each land parcel and holds the files needed to render them.
The Real-Time Layer
Social interactions are facilitated through this layer using the trader’s avatar. It also houses methods to communicate with other users, like messages in the virtual reality universe.
How to Buy Decentraland (MANA)
Follow our step-by-step guide to buying MANA:
Register With a Relevant Exchange Platform
The first step you have to make to buy MANA is to choose a Fiat-to-Crypto exchange that supports MANA and register on it.
Consider our advice to go for the most popular exchanges, which also have competitive trading fees.
You will also need a crypto wallet to trade MANA.
As one of the most popular exchange platforms, Binance is renowned for its vast collection of supported altcoins. Also, verification isn’t required for daily withdrawal below 2BTC.
You will need to provide personal information to open an account if you don’t already have one. Remember to choose a strong password to secure your account.
Deposit Currency
Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most convenient cryptocurrencies to deposit as they have a vast amount of trading pairs and, therefore, provide a maximum amount of flexibility. You can trade Bitcoin and Ethereum for their MANA equivalent.
You will be required to deposit funds from your credit or debit card to start trading.
Check Balance
This is as simple as accessing the navigation bar at the top of the exchange platform website. The coin amount will appear once your deposit is processed.
Place an Order for Decentraland (MANA)
Once you’ve deposited your coins, be it BTC or ETH, search for MANA. The trading pair MANA/BTC or MANA/ETH, followed by a price chart, would appear. After clicking on the trading pair, you can buy MANA by placing your order.
You have to enter the price and amount of MANA you wish to buy and click “buy.” You can place a limit order if you want to buy MANA when it reaches an exact price.
Where to Buy Decentraland (MANA)
MANA is easily purchased on the right cryptocurrency exchange platform.
If you want to buy MANA tokens with fiat currencies using your debit card, you should consider the best exchange platform allowing you to trade them by considering your trading skill levels, the deposit methods available, etc.
Binance is a great exchange platform to buy MANA as they offer great liquidity.
How to Buy Decentraland (MANA) on CoinStats
A platform like CoinStats is a great place to buy MANA. On CoinStats, you can track the day-to-day prices of cryptocurrencies, i.e., the MANA token, check Decentraland price, and learn how to buy Pirate Chain, Solana, Tether, etc.
All you have to do is connect your exchange account to CoinStats wallets and start trading.
How to Store Decentraland (Mana)
You should store MANA in a wallet for long term storage.
Some crypto exchanges offer their own crypto wallets, but there have been many hacking incidents in the past few years, and funds were lost, making a software or hardware wallet a better option for many.
There are plenty of software wallets downloadable for free from the App Store or Google Play. Software wallets save your public and private address online and protect it against hackers. Although these wallets offer robust protection, they’re still vulnerable because they store information online.
However, if you prefer a safer alternative, you need to purchase a cold wallet, also known as a hardware wallet. Hardware wallets store your private keys offline, thereby excluding the chances of a hack.
As an Ethereum token, MANA can be stored in Ethereum wallets, of which there are several in circulation.
Why You Should Buy Decentraland (MANA)
Mana is currently estimated to have a total supply of 2.9B MANA, 1.82B of which is in circulation.
If you had invested in MANA at the beginning of the year, you would have had a massive investment return. Note that there was a drop in Decentraland price at the beginning of May. You should also note that its past performance is not a guarantee of its future performance.
With investors showing increasing interest in the first shared virtual world, market prices are predicted to skyrocket to an all-time high, making Decentraland the future of the metaverse. With investors storing MANA in hardware wallets in anticipation of a rise in future performance, the potential profit seems immense.
Like every other cryptocurrency, the MANA price is influenced by market sentiment, the economy, and the flow of cryptocurrencies on exchange platforms.
Cryptocurrency investments are subject to market risk – the market is volatile, unpredictable, and full of significant risks.
Consider your own circumstances and obtain your own advice before relying on this information. You should also carry out your own research, including the legal status and relevant regulatory requirements, and consult the relevant regulators’ websites before making any decision.
This content is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial advice, investment advice, or any other kind of advice.
Some traders prefer to use CFDs to minimize the financial risks during a trade. Let’s look into them.
CFDs: A Beginners Guide
A contract for Difference or CFD is typically made between a buyer and seller, specifying that the buyer is required to pay the seller the difference, if any, between the current value of an asset and its value at the time the contract took place.
Instead, the seller will have to pay the buyer if the difference is negative.
CFD is a popular and risk-reduced way of trading that allows traders and investors an opportunity to profit from price movement without owning the underlying assets. The value of a CFD contract doesn’t consider the asset’s underlying value: only the price change between the trade entry and exit. Profit is made if, as an investor, you can accurately predict the direction of price movements while wrong guesswork will incur losses on your part.
CFDs operate by allowing investors to leverage or stake a marginal amount of assets to control a larger amount in the market.
CFD prices are usually in pairs, termed as ask and bid prices. Ask prices are the lowest amount a seller will amount on an asset, while bid prices are the highest amount a buyer is willing to pay.
An estimated 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose their money when trading CFDs. As a first-time investor, you should consider how CFDs work and if they are worth the enormous financial risk before you venture into it.
Conclusion
With its rising popularity and fast-growing pace, the virtual reality ecosystem with its free-market economy and native token is a unique and exciting venture within the Ethereum blockchain system.
Decentraland is predicted to become a multipurpose metaverse, where businesses can advertise and monetize digital content. The rising popularity of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) brings more value to MANA with the increasing popularity of Decentraland.
However, it also comes with a handful of issues, the biggest being the shockingly high gas fees to purchase MANA, which makes playing a bit problematic.
Also, clothing customization for avatars is fun but requires you to buy MANA that costs a whopping $60, with several other items of clothing costing several thousands of US dollars worth of MANA.
With this said and regulatory risks remaining high for virtual cryptocurrencies like MANA, it undoubtedly gives investors several incentives to invest in it.
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