Virtual land. No, you’re not crazy.
Our online personas are significant, if not a higher priority than our real-world identities. Your digital fingerprint extends to your Twitter and Instagram activity, the kind of skins you buy in games like Fortnite, and what NFTs, or non-fungible tokens you own.

Enter Decentraland. The video game that is one giant NFT project.

Decentraland: Digital Flexing Can Get You Paid

Decentraland is an online video game released to the public in 2020 that brings together games like Second Life, Sims and Roblox, and pairs them together with blockchain.

It’s the first step towards Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One;” an online experience where you can explore a digitized second life with friends and strangers.

My Decentraland character. Add me: IsaiahMccall

What makes Decentraland stand apart from those other games, however, is its use of Ethereum’s blockchain. The innate rules of Decentraland are final, and cannot be altered unless voted upon by the majority of its community.

Decentraland is one giant NFT project. Everything is unique, immutable and resellable. In fact, everything is so immutable that parcels of LAND sell for thousands of dollars in Decentraland. 

How Gamers Are Using Decentraland as a Side Hustle

LAND is the primary token used to purchase virtual land in Decentraland and is a finite resource, just like Bitcoin. Additionally MANA is another digital token used to buy rare in-game goods which can be resold. 

LAND is fixed at 45,000 private parcels. The game already has its own network of virtual real estate flippers. 

Some of this virtual land is already owned by major crypto companies like Binance and Kraken who have spent hundreds of thousands in this space. Travel to Decentraland’s  Crypto Valley to see how they set their area up.

In addition, Decentraland has its own cryptocurrency known as MANA, which can be exchanged for LAND or other goods and services; including but not limited to NFT-costumes, artwork or rare in-game items. 

“Unlike other virtual worlds and social networks, Decentraland is not controlled by a centralized organization. There is no single agent with the power to modify the rules of the software, contents of land, economics of the currency, or prevent others from accessing the world.” — Decentraland White Paper

What Can You Do in Decentraland?

Decentraland started as a sparse lackluster game with little to do, but has since grown into a respectable indie project.

Besides playing minigames or exploring the nightclubs of Vegas City, many use Decentraland for generating passive income.

Buying LAND enables users to build minigames or unique playable events that require other users to deposit ETH or MANA to activate. As long as Decentraland continues to grows in popularity the users who own LAND will have access to a lifetime of steady passive income.

Here are some other ways gamers have fun in Decentraland:

• Gambling: Decentraland has a few notable casinos throughout the game. Recently classic video company Atari even opened their own casino with the digital token ATRI. Users can also bet their MANA or ETH inside such venues.
• Host podcasts with your friends: Looking for a way to spice up your podcast? How about hosting one in virtual reality? Decentraland offers many low-key dope spots to host group gatherings or engage in a productive discussion about DMT. 
• Showcase your digital art: The one thing missing from the NFT art space is a place to flex it like how Twitter and Instagram users do with their verification symbols. Decentraland is trying to become that space where you show off your NFTs.
• Virtual performances: Events happen quite frequently in Decentraland and can be quite fun. DJ NGHTMRE dropped by a club recently for an exclusive show. Events pop up every single day and can be viewed on the official schedule.
• Gain Cryptocurrency: There are several ways to take advantage of the virtual land craze and earn some serious dough. So, let’s go over the most popular —

Working Inside Decentraland

Alright, you’re going to need to sit down for this one…You can work a full-time 9 to 5 job in Decentraland. Yes, with benefits. Yes, they’re probably making more money than me.

In early 2021, Decentraland hired real people to manage their in-game casino. They onboarded 20 part-time greeters and a full-time casino manager to work inside the game. 

“You can’t play a game with a robot and say, ‘Hey, man, this is cool isn’t it? Wow, look at this,’” said the newly hired manager who goes by the username GLHF.“You know, there’s just that personal touch that I believe is worth the investment. And you can actually share emotions.”

Stay up to date with the Decentraland dev team to see they ever do a hiring event in the future.

Flipping Land in Decentraland

Decentraland is split up into many different districts. There’s the Fashion District, Cyberpunk District, and Gambling District to name a few. The more interesting the area is — i.e. fun things to do, or scarcity of LAND — the more value.

In fact, located inside some of these areas is ad space where you will receive a cut for lending it out to advertisers.

Worthwhile investment?

In order to make money flipping land, you would first want to become very accustomed to the game and which parcels of land stand to gain the most. Then you can purchase LAND on the marketplace and hold while it gains in value.

This LAND doesn’t come cheap. You’ll spend thousands at the very least.

LAND purchased around roads costs more but guarantees more traffic compared to LAND purchased in the middle of nowhere. Although, LAND in the middle of nowhere is much cheaper. It’s just like real life!

Since launch, there have been more than 50,000 secondary LAND sales totaling $30+ million at an average price of $560. Today, the total value of all the LAND is about $100 million and growing.

Of course, flipping land banks on the assumptions that Decentraland gains in popularity and the LAND you’ve chosen will be in a popping spot.

Generating Passive Income On Your LAND

As you explore Decentraland you’ll find many places where creators are generating (or at least attempting to generate) passive income.

Some users offer to rent out their LAND. Others have created a unique experience like playing a claw game or entering a haunted house which costs MANA to play. You’ll even find exclusive art galleries where you can purchase NFT artwork.

If Decentraland continues its enormous trend — the price of MANA has risen more than 4000% YTD — it could create a massive means of passive income for creators who got in early.

Can you believe that virtual mortgages are even being offered? What a time to be alive!

What’s Next For Decentraland?

Not all digital art will grow in value, not all digital LAND will be worth more than a buck, and no crypto-based video game is guaranteed success. 

However, virtual socialization is inevitable; so the question we should be asking ourselves is, will Decentraland be the one to facilitate that? 

If the game isn’t fun or interesting, then it will most likely fail. And it does have a long way to go in that regard.

Conversely, Decentraland does have a good framework. It lacks polish but has charm. It’s not original but has attracted a growing userbase. It’s the first, and most popular of its kind; and in the cryptocurrency space, that’s always a huge benefit.

We recommend creating a character in Decentraland (it takes less than five minutes) and exploring the world for yourself. It’s free and the opportunity to earn crypto rewards is there for everyone.