According to cryptocurrency analytics firm Santiment, the virtual reality platform Decentraland has seen the highest development activity among all NFT projects in the past month. Sentiment reported a notable surge in the platform’s activities, as Decentraland registered a whopping 168.17 GitHub events over the last 30 days – more than any other NFT project.
Decentraland is experiencing a recent spike in development activities on GitHub. Going beyond mere code updates, this trend may hint at problem-solving efforts on its technical infrastructure or a project’s ongoing development, boding well for the platform’s future. As per data compiled by Santiment, the layer-1 permissionless blockchain Flow comes a close second with 119.57 notable events. The decentralized Solana-based NFT platform Metaplex comes in a distant third place with only 19.13 events.
For the past few weeks, the price of Decentraland (MANA) has been going up. This Ethereum token was built to facilitate the purchase of virtual land parcels in Decentraland along with in-world services and goods. Ever since its public opening in 2020, thousands of users have explored this metaverse, buying and selling digital real estate.
However, times have been rough for the platform following the NFT bubble burst. Many news outlets were quick to report the majority of NFTs dead. According to a publication by NFTevening, over 95% of all non-fungible tokens are now worthless. Last year, controversy after controversy rocked NFT circles, with the highly-publicized lawsuit filed by Bored Ape buyers against numerous celebrities, whom they accused of inflating the token’s price intentionally, skewing public perception even more.
In late 2022, the FTX scandal had already begun to shake the crypto world to its core, followed by a legal battle between crypto exchange Binance and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – which has only intensified ever since. Decentraland’s MANA token subsequently came under SEC scrutiny, with the federal regulatory agency labeling the asset an unregistered security. Despite this cloud of suspicion, which sent the price of MANA tumbling and destabilized shareholders, the token has not gone to zero as many tech analysts had predicted it would.
The recent data collected by Santiment is a strong indicator of reliability and sustainability, with Decentraland’s record-high activity potentially enhancing investors’ long-term trust and interest in the platform. Earlier in September, the crypto insights company had already designated Decentraland as an “altcoin to watch” alongside open-source protocol Aave and decentralized indexing protocol meant for blockchain data The Graph.
Meanwhile, Decentraland is undergoing a creative resurgence. The Ethereum metaverse game is getting a performance boost thanks to an upcoming desktop client powering a significant visual upgrade and revamped mechanics. The platform is currently played in-browser, which has conceivably curbed its graphical capabilities and stunted its evolution over the years. With enhanced graphics, this huge update set to be executed on October 22 as part of a public beta might usher in a Decentraland renaissance – and allow its team to toy with the possibility of venturing into the VR world.
Kicking off on November 20, the platform’s annual three-day music festival could be the first time it showcases its improved graphics and new ability to host hundreds of users in one single space. This technological shift might also reinforce the metaverse’s position as a trailblazer in its field. As a case in point, Decentraland was among the pioneers of collaborations between the crypto and art spheres, with this 3D world seeing the opening of Sotheby’s first virtual gallery in 2021. This auction house started greeting visitors in the Voltaire Art District, while world-famous DJs like 3LAU offered live performances during the metaverse’s festive season a year earlier. Many more specialized areas emerged over time, such as the tech district of Engineering Park and the gambling hub of Vegas City.
This virtual entertainment haven might have fueled the interest in cryptocurrencies among card sharks, driving the mainstream adoption of digital assets like Ethereum, Litecoin, and Tether. Incidentally, Bitcoin casinos have gained traction on the web from platforms like CasinoBonusCA. Gamers can browse dedicated websites to discover the ultimate online places to play with Bitcoin. Industry experts keep tabs of all new iGaming platforms to update their rankings and help users compare several websites with a few clicks. Crypto-savvy newcomers can typically grab welcome bonuses to make the most of their Bitcoin deposits.
While interest in NFT projects has massively declined, initiatives like Decentraland are alive and kicking. The recent $1billion valuation of rival platform The Sandbox shows that the metaverse has a future, still.
