In Decentraland, ownership of virtual land is bought and sold in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). An NFT tokens are collectible items that exist on the blockchain and represent different types of digital files, such as audio or video files, and even virtual land.
The buyer was an investment vehicle called Republic Realm, a digital real estate investment fund, the Decentraland Foundation said. Republic Realm is a New York-based firm that invests in digital real estate in virtual worlds. According to the company’s profile on Decentraland, this isn’t the firm’s first real estate purchase on the platform. The company owns a plot of land named after itself, as well as several “parcel” properties — the smaller squares on the map.
It was the most expensive purchase of NFT land to date, according to DappRadar, a website which tracks NFT sales data.
Made up of 259 units or “parcels” of land, the plot of virtual real estate represents 66,304 virtual square metres (16 virtual acres), making it also the biggest Decentraland land purchase in terms of virtual size.
“We can’t wait to announce our big plans for this estate,” the platform tweeted. “Our commitment to building and developing the metaverse is stronger than ever.”
Non-fungible tokens are collectible items that exist on the blockchain and represent different types of digital files, such as audio or video files, and even virtual land.
Republic Realm just closed on the largest land acquisition in @decentraland history! We can't wait to announce our big plans for this estate.
Our commitment to building and developing the metaverse is stronger than ever. https://t.co/cIK9EdO660
— Everyrealm (@Everyrealm) June 17, 2021
With this sale, Decentraland has broken a record it established only a few weeks ago, when blockchain protocol Boson Protocol acquired one of its plots for over $700,000.
Decentraland is one of several “play-to-earn” games, where users play to earn rewards like tokens, which they can then trade on an open marketplace. Other popular games include Sandbox and Axie Infinity, which are also Ethereum-based.
