NFTs are driving growth in demand for virtual real estate. In the past week alone, several non-fungible sales of digital land have taken place, with one auction bringing in more than $700,000.
According to DappRadar, the top NFT sale for virtual land between 24th and 30th May was CryptoPunk #2424. Bidding finished at $789,970, or 325 ETH. The real estate is in Decentraland, which is controlled via DAO and claims to be the ‘first fully decentralised world’.
The vast environment includes Genesis City, a sprawling metropolis where users build their own experiences and socialise with others. Decentraland’s own Premium Estate was the second most valuable virtual land sale this week, at $709,020. This converted to 759,360 MANA, the platform’s native currency.
Who dominates virtual real estate NFTs?
CryptoPunks are widely seen as setting the standard for virtual real estate NFTs. In addition to the top spot, a further four of the Top 10 sales this week link to the characters. Punk #1162, #8562, #843, and #3824 also appear on the list. Together, all five brought in a total of $1,756,120.
Here’s the full run down for the last seven days:
Top Virtual Real Estate NFT Sales — 24th – 30th May 2021
1. CryptoPunks – punk 2424 – $783,970 / 325 ETH
2. Decentraland – Premium Estate – $709,020 / 759,360
3. CryptoPunks – punk 1162 – $309,450 / 119,99
4. Hackatao – VR Girl – $296,550 / 115 ETH
5. CryptoPunks – punk 8562 – $248,160 / 105 ETH
6. CryptoPunks – punk 843 – $234,010 / 102,99 ETH
7. Autoglyphs – glyph 189 – $207,010 / 82,5 ETH wallet
8. CryptoPunks – punk 3824 – $180,530 / 70 ETH
9. XCOPY – Five Eyes – $178,750 / 70 ETH
10. The Sandbox 12×12 Estate – $177,770 / 551,250 SAND
Virtual real estate NFTs are on the rise
ShapeShift’s NFT report for Q1 2021 paints an intimidatingly healthy picture of the sector. Sales of non-fungible tokens in general reached a staggering $2billion during that period, 20 times more than the previous quarter. Although virtual real estate linked to these assets is still very much emerging, there are a number of significant examples of this activity taking place.
Most recently, MyMetaverse launched a series of 70 NFTs for its MetaCity Minecraft environment. Crucially, as oppose to the standard auction model for token ownership, these non-fungibles are accessed by completing in-game tasks and earning Capital Coins. Once owned, tokens can be traded with others. Users who create their own minigames can also charge coins for entrance, while participants who manage to beat a game receive blockchain assets from connected products.
This news followed the announcement that popular NFT metaverse The Sandbox was selling 400 premium lands and 900 standard islands. Its auction began on 27th May. And back in April, Reuters reported on ‘The Metaverse Bet: Crypto Rich Investors Snap Up Virtual Real Estate‘. The article explains how the current trend of NFT accumulation is the beginning of a long process that will eventually see tokens experienced “as intended”. For virtual real estate, this means actually being able to step into the plot of land.
Non-virtual real estate NFTs
If the idea of owning a virtual property in a virtual world with IRL value is mind-blowing, then non-virtual real estate NFTs take the metaverse idea to a whole new level. New York’s tallest building, the recently-topped out 111 West 57th Street, is even using its NFT museum as a real estate tool to drive footfall of the physical space. Meanwhile, a real world apartment in Kiev and homes in Germany and the US have all been sold as NFTs.
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This article is educational material.
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