Decentraland, Developing VR Games Using Ethereum Blockchain, Raises US$24 Million In ICO In 35 Seconds

An increasing number of startups are looking to raise funds outside of existing VC and investment channels, opting for initial coin offerings (ICOs) as their means of doing so. The vehicle will incentivize investors with cryptocurrency tokens that reflect the market's confidence in the underlying concept behind the product.

Even in an industry like virtual reality (VR), it's no surprise that companies are jumping on the ICO wave.

However, VR ICOs can offer participants different types of incentives. For example, virtual real estate. Emerging VR startup Decentraland is trying to create a virtual world based entirely on blockchain. The company raised US$24 million in ICO in just 35 seconds, setting a new ICO fundraising record.

With the concept of owning an in-game land that can be experienced entirely in VR, Decentraland has captured the interest of users.

The company sells some of its land holdings to investors so that it can be developed. Other users can also participate in this space and buy and sell digital services. The owner's character (avatar) can also interact freely and safely through the VR blockchain interface.

The game offers creative development tools. With this tool, users can build new buildings, acquire skills, pursue unique hobbies, shop, create meaningful relationships with other users, and even earn pocket money.

Genesis City was the first VR space that gained popularity so far, but some developers and investors are trying to work on frameworks beyond this. One Github project is even trying to create a virtual version of the Las Vegas Strip.

Cryptocurrency is indispensable to operate this VR space. Token issuance motivates developers, artists, and content programmers to help realize their visions.

Decentraland uses an ERC20 token called MANA as a vehicle to purchase and claim land. 1MANA was initially set at US$0.024 using the commonly used Ethereum/US dollar rate. Owners of MANA tokens can use their currency and exchange it for other digital wallets.

It all started with a simple Proof of Work (PoW) in June 2015, which is no different from what Bitcoin employs. By March 2017, the company's team had developed a 3D space, and by the end of August, the first Terraform Event was announced.

And soon, a function will be added that allows users to create multiple avatars and live chat. By 2018, his VR world will be built on blockchain.

But Decentraland faces challenges. While VR has grown at a tremendous rate, gamers have yet to fully embrace the technology, and it remains a niche area at best. While sales are slowly growing, the limited user base is a problem for companies looking to establish and popularize fully online worlds in VR.

Securing excellent content may lead to arousing the need for large-scale adoption of VR. That said, it remains to be seen whether Decentraland and its competitors will provide enough incentives to reach VR's critical mass.

There are many companies in the gaming industry that have managed to overcome precarious start-ups. Games such as No Man's Sky have managed to build online societies that interact with each other with little or no intervention. But the game is run by Sony, not by the users themselves.

Others have created market demand but have been less successful at launching VR worlds. EVE Online, a massively multiplayer space exploration game with millions of users, has been forced to end development of its VR division as it can no longer continue to operate.

Despite grand plans, the world of Decentraland will be as successful as an online community. In addition to being decentralized, this is a model based on the user's own exploration, so if the user decides that there is nothing to play in the game, they will quickly switch to another game. become.

After conducting such an ambitious ICO, it remains to be seen if the company can translate it into the virtual world it envisions.

[via Tech in Asia] @techinasia

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