What is Decentraland and what role does it play?
Decentraland is an Ethereum virtual world where users own LAND and use MANA to buy goods and vote in its DAO. It opened to the public in 2020.
Vahe HakobyanEditor-in-chief
Updated Oct 6, 20263 min readFact-checked
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Visitors move through Decentraland as avatars and enter event spaces, galleries, and clubs that other users built. The places you visit come from users rather than one company.
What is Decentraland and its role?
Decentraland is an Ethereum-based virtual world where users own parcels and govern the platform. MANA is the token used to buy virtual goods and to vote in Decentraland's DAO. A DAO is an organization whose members vote on decisions. Its role is to show how an online world can be owned and governed by its users.
How do MANA and LAND work?
MANA and LAND do different jobs. MANA is an interchangeable token. LAND is a non-fungible token. A non-fungible token is a unique digital asset that cannot be swapped one for one. Each LAND stands for a virtual parcel, and an Estate combines several parcels under one owner. LAND also gives voting power in the Decentraland DAO.
Who created Decentraland and when?
Decentraland was started by Ariel Meilich and Esteban Ordano. The project held a token sale in 2017. Early LAND parcels were auctioned and traded around that time. Decentraland opened to the public in 2020.
Differences and US legal rules
The Sandbox is another virtual world with its own land and token. Both projects use Ethereum and land tokens, and both have a DAO. The projects differ in their specific tokens and governance rules. For US taxes, the IRS treats crypto as property. If you sell MANA or LAND for more than you paid, you report a capital gain.
Frequently asked questions
No. You can explore public areas without a wallet or MANA. You need MANA mainly to take part in the economy.
You can build scenes and host events on it. You can also use it to display art or run a community space.
It is more a social and creative platform than a traditional video game. Some spaces follow game rules, but the main draw is meeting people and building.
The DAO lets token holders vote on many proposals. The Decentraland Foundation still has a role in operations and legal matters.
