Ornella Hernandez

<div id="highlights-block_62a24448bff5c" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Crypto metaverses empower individuals through decentralization, according to Kraken</li>
 <li>Metaverse token performance is up a collective 395%</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The digital currencies that power the metaverse are up a collective 395% in the past year, an outlier in a broader dismal crypto downturn, according to a new report.&nbsp;



Popular metaverse projects The Sandbox, Decentraland, Sommium Space and Voxels are among the leaders in user activity, according to the <a href="https://kraken.docsend.com/view/scyxnqnb9tf8wqpf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> by Kraken Intelligence and CoinGecko.



Decentraland’s MANA is up 41%; The Sandbox’s SAND 470%; Axie Infinity’s Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) 511%; and Stepn’s GMT 746%.&nbsp;



Though May brought negative price moves across the crypto board, including for bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), metaverse tokens registered the highest level of volatility out of all sectors.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="566" height="369" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-2022-06-10-at-13.45.46.png" alt="Sector Breakdown; Source: Kraken" class="wp-image-22714" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-2022-06-10-at-13.45.46.png?w=566 566w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-2022-06-10-at-13.45.46.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-2022-06-10-at-13.45.46.png?w=394 394w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-2022-06-10-at-13.45.46.png?w=400 400w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-2022-06-10-at-13.45.46.png?w=336 336w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-2022-06-10-at-13.45.46.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-2022-06-10-at-13.45.46.png?w=50 50w" sizes="(max-width: 566px) 100vw, 566px" /><figcaption>Sector Breakdown; Source: <a href="https://kraken.docsend.com/view/scyxnqnb9tf8wqpf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kraken</a></figcaption></figure></div>


And NFTs, which play a significant role in blockchain-based gaming and the metaverse writ large, also saw flat daily usage amid a large decline in May — with daily volume dropping 87.1%, according to the report.&nbsp;



The year-over-year performance of metaverse tokens, which can be used to buy digital land, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and participate in governance, is largely attributed to the NFT resurgence.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">💥 The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFT</a> boom of 2021 has not only drawn mainstream attention to digital art investments, it has also popularized the crypto metaverse. Kraken Intelligence&#39;s report takes a closer look at how the crypto metaverse will change the way we communicate: <a href="https://t.co/kjrf6Pu8yg">https://t.co/kjrf6Pu8yg</a> <a href="https://t.co/YHpljpBJR9">pic.twitter.com/YHpljpBJR9</a>&mdash; Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) <a href="https://twitter.com/krakenfx/status/1534204810731339776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The Sandbox’s digital economy reported cumulative NFT sales volume at $473,665,766 and three million registered wallet users.



Sebastien Borget, chief operating officer of the Animoca-owned platform, told Blockworks the metaverse is “an unstoppable digital nation in the making that already brings entertainment, fashion, gaming music and art all together, offering long-term perspectives through clear utility for NFTs.”



He added the reason the metaverse and tokens such as SAND has outperformed crypto more broadly over the past year is due to continued demand for land from global brands from Hong Kong, Dubai and Korea that are acquiring NFT avatars and engaging in play-and-earn events.



Ethereum-based metaverse Decentraland, registered the second-largest cumulative NFT sales volume at $216,471,162, through the first quarter, behind The Sandbox.



Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro, events producer at the Decentraland Foundation and head of Metaverse Fashion Week, told Blockworks that amped up trading of virtual land plots is driving growth in Decentraland.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“Wearables represent a medium of self-expression and identification, propelling a unique creator&#8217;s economy and ecosystem,” Casimiro said.</blockquote>



Referring to Metaverse Fashion Week, which Decentraland hosted in March, she said it “inspired the entrance of legacy, world-renowned fashion brands into our marketplace and expanded the discussion on NFTs as bridges between the physical and digital.”&nbsp;



Another NFT-based and gamified metaverse, Treeverse, is challenging the terminology behind crypto-native worlds in a bid to attract more mainstream gamers. A developer for parent company <a href="https://www.endlessclouds.xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Endless Cloud</a> tweeted on Thursday it plans to stop using the term NFTs.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">At Treeverse, we will start to use another term instead of “NFTs” and stop using the word “blockchain game”. The goal is to attract normal gamers and show them what’s possible, without scaring them. Similar to Crypto rebranded to Web3, I believe this helps.&mdash; Loopify 🧙‍♂️ (@Loopifyyy) <a href="https://twitter.com/Loopifyyy/status/1534866275146539008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Kraken is planning to launch its crypto exchange in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, as well as its own NFT marketplace.



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As Crypto Markets Tank, Metaverse Tokens Buck the Trend

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_62204d5b18b8b" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The two companies said they wanted to spread Korean culture through the metaverse</li>
 <li>Cube is the world&#8217;s fifth-largest K-pop company, following behind others such as BigHit and the Big Three</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Animoca Brands&#8217; metaverse gaming subsidiary The Sandbox has partnered with South Korea&#8217;s Cube Entertainment in an ambitious bid to spread Korean culture to the rest of the world via the development of digital assets.



According to a press release on Wednesday, the companies&#8217; announcement extends upon a joint venture last month between the pair of their music metaverse <a href="https://www.animocabrands.com/animoca-brands-and-cube-entertainment-complete-establishment-of-anicube-joint-venture" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AniCube</a> based on K-pop. Short for Korean popular music, K-pop originated in South Korea and attracts a massive following in places like China and Japan.



The partnership will focus on the collaboration for business expansion as they seek to bring in various outside companies into the metaverse and hold events to introduce them to Korean culture, the companies said. 



Cube is the world&#8217;s fifth-largest K-pop company following behind others such as BigHit and the Big Three. The company clocked net revenue exceeding 52.95 billion Korean won ($43.9 million) last year.



As an initial step, a cultural space known as the &#8220;K-Culture complex&#8221; will be established on plots of virtual land owned by Cube inside The Sandbox&#8217;s open metaverse.



The Sandbox is a decentralized Ethereum-based gaming universe that lets users create and monetize non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In January, the company committed <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/metaverse-platform-the-sandbox-to-pour-50m-into-new-accelerator-program/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$50 million</a> to a new accelerator program for budding startups looking to build atop its ecosystem.



With the partnership, Cube will be charged with preparing content relating to Korean culture via multiple partnerships with Korean companies while The Sandbox will provide technical support, per the release.



&#8220;Cube is truly embracing the spirit of the open Metaverse by moving one step further into The Sandbox via its K-culture hub, where it is actively curating local brands and partners of their main K-POP label,&#8221; said The Sandbox co-founder Sebastien Borget.



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The Sandbox Lands Cube Entertainment To Bring ‘K-Culture’ to the Masses

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_61cb9cc4515aa" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Borget said an open metaverse allows users to own their personal data </li>
 <li>The metaverse is all about technology and if large corporations keep rebranding what they&#8217;ve been doing for years then they aren’t building a better internet, according to Borget </li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



It’s no secret that big tech has placed enormous bets on the metaverse.



In October, Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/facebook-ceo-metaverse-will-be-holy-grail-of-social-experiences/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> a multi-billion dollar investment into the metaverse and even changed its corporate name to reflect the company’s ambition of onboarding a billion people into the nascent world. A month later, Microsoft Inc. <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/innovation-stories/mesh-for-microsoft-teams/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> its new product, Mesh for Microsoft Teams, will be “the gateway to the metaverse.”



So is it the billionaires&#8217; battle to dominate the metaverse or will the virtual realm be owned by its participants and creators? Sebastien Borget, co-founder and COO of The Sandbox, hopes for the latter.&nbsp;



“You can recognize that [these companies] brought more mainstream attention to the metaverse, but this is at the risk of deceiving users,” Bourget said in an interview with Blockworks.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“They have a responsibility to build a better future for us and for the next generation of technology,” Bourget said. “The metaverse is all about technology and if the large corporations keep building the same thing [as in] just rebranding what they&#8217;ve been doing for years [then] they are not building a better internet.”&nbsp;</blockquote>



The Sandbox, a play-to-earn blockchain-based game that has amassed <a href="https://www.marketing-interactive.com/softbank-leads-us93m-funding-into-nft-gaming-firm-the-sandbox" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">30,000 monthly active users</a>, allows players to contribute to virtual worlds and own digital assets without a central authority, unlike large corporations such as Meta.&nbsp;



The Sandbox aims to be a part of an <a href="https://www.notboring.co/p/the-value-chain-of-the-open-metaverse" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">open metaverse</a>, meaning that players can travel seamlessly through different platforms and can carry their assets with them. (Imagine jumping from Roblox to Fortnite with your skins and NFTs in your wallet.)



The open metaverse is an interoperable shared space that does not derive its power from a few large companies, explained Dapper Labs CEO <a href="https://medium.com/@rohamg?source=user_profile----------------------------------------" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Roham Gharegozlou</a>.



&nbsp;“The software governing our digital lives will be transparent and run on public blockchains, not private servers: accessible to anyone, trusted by everyone, and controlled by the people that use it — not the people that made it,” <a href="https://medium.com/@rohamg?source=user_profile----------------------------------------" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gharegozlou</a>, wrote in a recent Medium <a href="https://medium.com/dapperlabs/2021-the-year-web3-and-the-open-metaverse-became-inevitable-dc17aff3f33" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post</a>.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Out with the old Web2</h3>



Borget said the open metaverse is about leaving an older version of the internet behind (often referred to as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Web2</a>) through the use of decentralized technologies like cryptocurrency, specifically citing Meta’s reputation for harvesting user data.&nbsp;



Facebook was previously <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-54722362" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sued</a> during the Cambridge Analytica scandal in Oct. 2020, when data from roughly 87 million users was used to allegedly manipulate US elections. In response, CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in front of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission fined the company $5 billion.



“This is a closed environment that is still built on the concept of Web2 where users are the product, are being monetized and being tracked,” Bourget said. “This is happening in order to serve the [companies] better, have more targeted ads and try to sell products. It’s a very limited vision.”



Separating itself further from traditional companies, The Sandbox will soon be governed via a decentralized autonomous organization, also called a <a href="https://foundation.app/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-daos" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DAO</a>. Players who own its native SAND token will have voting rights and can make proposals on various decisions in its ecosystem, according to the platform’s <a href="https://installers.sandbox.game/The_Sandbox_Whitepaper_2020.pdf?_ga=2.223070354.848375908.1640716044-1797054428.1638466272" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">whitepaper</a>.



“It’s important for us to keep educating people on why if they spend real money they should own their digital assets [and] should be rewarded for the value they create in the metaverse,” Borget said.



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