Sandbox Alpha Release Is Here—What It Means for SAND
The widely awaited Sandbox Alpha was released on Nov. 29. Here’s what we know about the release so far and what it means for SAND.
Nov. 29 2021, Published 10:07 a.m. ET
The widely awaited Sandbox Alpha was released on Nov. 29. It's a multi-week play-to-earn event where players will get to experience Sandbox Metaverse for the first time. Here’s what we know about the release so far.
Metaverse has been getting a lot of attention ever since Facebook changed its name to Meta to signal the company’s focus on metaverse. Companies like Nvidia also see metaverse as a key long-term driver.
Sandbox is a decentralized gaming ecosystem.
Sandbox is a decentralized gaming ecosystem based on the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Many people expected Ethereum to pass Bitcoin and become the biggest cryptocurrency, but that didn't happen.
Sandbox has virtual real estate properties called “LANDs,” which are pieces of digital real estate within the Sandbox metaverse. LANDs work like real-world properties and their prices fluctuate. Owners can either sell LANDs or develop them to increase their value. Meanwhile, the price of Sandbox competitor Decentralized (MANA) has also risen after the release of Sandbox Alpha.
Sandbox Alpha is open to everyone.
Sandbox has distributed Alpha passes, which are NFT tickets. Holders will be able to explore all of the 18 experiences of the Alpha Season content. Alpha pass holders will have an opportunity to earn three exclusive NFT rewards and up to $1,000 SAND.
However, even players without the pass will be able to access three full experiences along with the Alpha HUB. Sandbox has distributed a total of 5,000 Alpha passes and they have been activated.
Sandbox is among the top 50 cryptocurrencies.
According to CoinMarketCap, Sandbox has a market cap of just about $6.5 billion based on the around 912 million coins that are in circulation. SAND has a total supply of 3 billion, which gives it a fully diluted market cap of above $21 billion. It's the 35th largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Sandbox's official whitepaper says, “Our vision is to offer a deeply immersive metaverse in which players will create virtual worlds and games collaboratively and without central authority. We are aiming to disrupt the existing game makers like Minecraft and Roblox by providing creators true ownership of their creations as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and rewarding their participation with our utility token – SAND.”
Online gaming has been gaining traction, which is reflected in the strong gains from Roblox. The company delayed its IPO in 2020 to rework the pricing. Finally, Roblox opted for a direct listing earlier this year and it has delivered good returns since the listing.
Sandbox Alpha's release faced a minor hiccup.
Sandbox Alpha's release went offline for a while but was back online quickly. The Alpha Season will close after Dec. 20. Japan-based players weren't eligible to own an Alpha pass due to play-to-earn restrictions in the country.
SAND's price prediction is positive.
The prediction for Sandbox looks positive amid the Alpha release. It has been among the best performing cryptocurrencies over the last year and appears to be in a technical uptrend. We could see more upside amid the euphoria towards the Alpha release.
