The Sandbox: what it is and how SAND and LAND work
The Sandbox is a blockchain world where users build and own voxel games and land. SAND pays for items, staking and votes, and Animoca Brands owns it.
Vahe HakobyanEditor-in-chief
Updated Oct 6, 20263 min readFact-checked
On this page
- SAND pays for items, staking and votes.
- LAND is an NFT for virtual real estate.
- Ethereum and Polygon handle transactions.
- Animoca Brands controls key parts of the platform.
Creators use a game-like editor to design characters, objects and games, then publish them in worlds they control. Items and land can then move between users through blockchain ownership.
What can users do in The Sandbox?
Players and creators use SAND and LAND together. SAND is the fungible token for buying and selling items, paying for services, staking and voting. LAND is an NFT that represents unique virtual real estate.
- Build voxel assets and characters
- Publish games on owned or rented LAND
- Buy, sell or rent LAND plots
- Stake SAND or vote on platform proposals
How does the blockchain side work?
The Sandbox uses Ethereum for ownership of SAND and LAND. Ethereum can be slow and costly when busy, so The Sandbox also supports Polygon for faster and cheaper transactions. In 2021, The Sandbox added Polygon support.
Who created and owns The Sandbox?
The Sandbox began in 2012 as a mobile game from Pixowl. Animoca Brands acquired Pixowl in 2018 and later turned the project into a blockchain metaverse, and it still controls key parts, so The Sandbox is not fully decentralized.
What legal risks does SAND face?
US regulators have treated some crypto tokens as securities. In 2023, the SEC named SAND in enforcement actions against major exchanges, saying it could be a security. That is an allegation, not a final court ruling.
Frequently asked questions
SAND is a fungible utility token for payments, staking and governance. LAND is an NFT, so each plot is unique virtual real estate.
You can visit some experiences without SAND, but you usually need it to buy items, stake or vote.
Both are blockchain metaverses with user-owned land and tokens. The Sandbox uses voxel art and SAND, while Decentraland uses MANA and its own land token.
VoxEdit is a tool from The Sandbox for making voxel models, animations and items. You build assets and can export them as NFTs.
