Decentraland Growth: MANA-USD is the hot crypto of the metaverse

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Metaverse altcoin Decentraland (CCC: MANA-USD) broke an all-time high of $ 5.90 in late November. However, the MANA-USD failed to continue the rally and has fallen more than 25% since that peak.

Source: Lichi / Shutterstock.com

Despite the recent decline, MANA has returned around 60% over the past 30 days and is currently trading at $ 3.89. With a market capitalization of over $ 7 billion, digital currency ranks among the top 40 names in the vast crypto universe.

Launched in 2017 and open to the public in 2020, Decentraland is a decentralized blockchain-based 3D virtual reality platform where its community can buy and sell land through a ‘non-fungible, transferable and rare digital asset stored in the Ethereum smart contract ”. MANA-USD is the Ethereum-based Limited Offer Token (CCC: ETH-USD) used to acquire Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) on the platform.

MANA is backed by companies like CoinFund, Genesis One Capital, and Animoca Brands. Additionally, Grayscale Investments oversees the Decentraland Trust which holds over $ 65 million in assets.

Earlier this year, MANA-USD first caught the attention of NFT enthusiasts. But after Facebook’s rebranding to Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB) at the end of October, Decentraland has entered a new reality. Now the bulls of the Metaverse are wondering what might be the next step for the altcoin. We will take a look.

From NFTs to the metaverse

Recent research by Michael Dowling of DCU Business School in Dublin, Ireland points out that Decentraland exemplifies “the growth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). An NFT is a right registered in the blockchain on a digital asset… Decentraland is part of a new generation of virtual world, commonly called metaverse, built on the blockchain.

Virtual spaces, where users share and interact in 3D via digital avatars, have been increasingly accepted since the pandemic. As such, Decentraland claims to be more than just an online social gaming platform. It even has a decentralized autonomous organizational structure (DAO) for governance decisions.

Metaverse Group, a real estate company and subsidiary of Tokens.com, (OTCMKTS: SMURF) recently purchased virtual land located in the heart of the Fashion District of Decentraland for 618,000 MANA. The company reportedly paid twice the asking price for digital real estate. The Metaverse Group has also pledged to work with Decentraland to “grow the business of fashion shows and commerce”.

Meanwhile, with an increasing number of people being digitally socialized, virtual events are also becoming a new normal. From October 21 to 24, Decentraland hosted the “Metaverse Festival”, a four-day virtual music festival that hosted 80 artists.

Amid the hyper-growth of Metaverse projects, Metaverse-themed tokens have also grown in popularity. For example, MANA is up about 4,800% year-to-date (YTD).

For comparison, so far this year, other metaverse coins Axie Infinity (CCC: AXS-USD), The Sandbox (CCC: SAND-USD) and Enjin Coin (CCC: ENJ-USD) have gained around 19 900%, 15,000%, and 2,000%, respectively. Meanwhile, the major cryptos Bitcoin (CCC: BTC-USD), Ethereum and Binance Coin (CCC: BNB-USD) are up 76% YTD, 486% YTD and 1.458% YTD, respectively.

The basics on Decentraland

Calculating the intrinsic value of a digital asset is not easy. Although there are a few valuation techniques, none are yet widely accepted. In the crypto world, investing on ‘fear of running out’ (FOMO) seems to play a key role in traders’ decisions.

For example, MANA and other metaverse tokens suddenly became a trending topic and rallied through Meta Platforms. Hyped investors interpreted the name change as a sign of greater acceptance of the concept of the metaverse. Then, on November 24, a mysterious whale transferred 9 million MANA tokens, worth over $ 47 million, to another anonymous account. This transaction helped MANA achieve records.

In short, cryptocurrencies will remain vulnerable to speculative movements in the months to come. MANA-USD is as volatile as it is attractive. So, risk-tolerant investors looking for profit in the metaverse revolution might consider investing at current levels, allocating a small portion of their portfolio.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to the publication guidelines of InvestorPlace.com.

At the date of publication, Tezcan Gecgil had (directly or indirectly) no position in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to the publication guidelines of InvestorPlace.com.

Tezcan Gecgil, Ph.D., has worked in investment management for over two decades in the US and UK. In addition to her formal graduate studies in the field, she has also passed all three levels of the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) exam. His passion is for options trading based on the technical analysis of fundamentally sound companies. She especially enjoys setting up weekly covered calls to generate income.

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