Should You Invest In Sandbox NFT Lands?

It’s possible to own real estate in the Metaverse thanks to the open world game The Sandbox. But is Sandbox NFT Land worth a buy? With an active player base, a clear roadmap, and partnerships with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Deadmau5, and The Smurfs, there are certainly positive signs. Follow along as Scott and Heather discuss The Sandbox NFTs.

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Episode Highlights

What is The Sandbox (SAND)?: “The Sandbox is software running on Ethereum that operates a decentralized virtual gaming world. At its core, the Sandbox is a game in which players can buy digital plots of land, called LAND, and create experiences on top of them to share with other users. In this way, The Sandbox is one model of a blockchain-based metaverse in the same vein as Decentraland.” (Kraken)

The Sandbox Considers New KYC Rules After Cheaters Threaten Its Future: “TSB failed to look into bug reports and proof of cheating submitted by the community. As a result, The Sandbox team ended up rewarding one of the fraudsters with 1000 $SAND (about $1889) worth of prize money. However, this may change soon as The Sandbox is looking into KYC to crack down on cheaters.” (NFT Evening)

Singaporean Billionaires Buy Decentraland x The Sandbox Metaverse Land: “Regal Hotels Group revealed the development of a “green metropolis” in the Singaporean billionaire’s land in The Sandbox metaverse.” (NFT Evening)

The Sandbox NFT Collection

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Transcript

Scott: Hi, I’m Scott.

Heather: And I’m Heather.

Scott: And welcome to NFT Investor Nation.

Heather: NFT Investor Nation.

Scott: NFT Investor Nation down under. And today we’re going to be talking about Sandboxes, but not just any Sandbox.

Heather: The Sandbox.

Scott: The Sandbox. The Sandbox. And we’re going to be talking about NFTs that really are about owning parcels of land in the metaverse.

Heather: I’m very excited.

Scott: Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, we’ve had so many of these episodes already, and there’s always this focus on utility, right?

Heather: Mm-hmm.

Scott: And if I’m going to have an NFT, it’s not just some overpriced JPEG. It’s what does it get me, why does it have value.

Heather: Yeah, what are all the things surrounding it that make me feel a part of something, and I’m excited to be in that universe. And this does it.

Scott: Exactly, exactly. So guess what. What is the Sandbox?

Heather: What is the Sandbox? Why are people excited about it?

Scott: Why are people excited about it?

Heather: Let’s get playing in the Sandbox.

Scott: So let’s real quick take a look at what we’re talking about here.

Man: Whether you’ve just bought land or have been holding for a while, welcome to the Sandbox metaverse. You may be wondering, now that I have land, what can I do with it?

Scott: Staking, renting.

Heather: But in this video, people can build…

Scott: Okay, all right. That’s enough there. So we’re talking about staking, trading, renting out your land for currency. So when we’re talking about the Sandbox, it leverages the Ethereum blockchain. And essentially it tracks the ownership of this land of these NFTs.

And then it also has a token which are SAND tokens that is a governance token. And long story short, it’s used as currency to buy, you know, items for your character, for your avatar to really customize your build, your house, whatever it might be.

Heather: My understanding is that it’s like for all the different materials. So whether that be sand, dirt, bricks, all those sorts of things that actually can help you build the structure and create your piece of land to be as unique as you’d like it to be but then also, like you said, clothing, weapons, food maybe.

Scott: Food, shelter, all of the things, right? And currently, last time I checked, the floor price of these land parcels is about 1.6 ETH, so between one and two there. So not exactly cheap but not exactly a Bored Ape either. And essentially there is a ton of interest in this from an investment perspective, because this is I think one of the first real forays into that metaverse and you look at our little map behind us here.

And you see lots of brands. You see lots of activity happening, and that’s where the Sandbox is hoping to take things.

Heather: Yeah. Well, they’ve already done some of that, right? Like, there’s been partnerships with, is it like, Snoop Dogg?

Scott: Oh, yeah. There’s Snoop Dogg. Huge partnership.

Heather: Deadmau5. The Smurfs?

Scott: The Smurfs. Oh, man. Well, we got to go back. Yes, there’s partnership with The Smurfs. Are you kidding me? Of course.

Heather: Oh, my gosh.

Scott: There are Smurfs, 14 legendary Smurfs.

Heather: Oh, no, there were so many and they’re…

Scott: It’s Smurfette.

Heather: …so lengendary. Oh, my gosh. It’s great.

Scott: So partnerships with The Smurfs as well as Deadmau5. So, for those of you going to Lolla, the Perry’s Tent crowd.

Heather: Perry’s Stage.

Scott: Oh, sorry. Well, isn’t it a tent?

Heather: No, it’s not.

Scott: Or it used to be. It got bigger. It got bigger. It used to be a tent, it used to be a tent.

Heather: That must have been a decade.

Scott: So there you go. You have Deadmau5 as well. And then you can see 1,000 SAND. Again, this is the currency for…

Heather: Professor Meowingtons. Amazing.

Scott: And the mau5 tank.

Heather: Amazing.

Scott: So there you go. So, these partnerships also matter because, again, you have these parcels of land, and folks have paid a lot of money to say, “Well, I’ve got the parcel in the Sandbox next to Snoop Dogg.”

Heather: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Scott: Or I can go…

Heather: Proximity.

Scott: I can go and check out Deadmau5’s concernt that’s going on, and we can hang out and…

Heather: So essentially… I just want to make sure I understand. Like, not only can you rent out these pieces or trade and sell your land, but also it becomes this, sort of, world that you can explore, which really is the whole point of the name, right? When you’re in Sandbox mode in any, sort of, gameplay, you’re wandering the universe and discovering.

Scott: Exactly. And the world is you’re oyster so to speak, and you are not limited. You know, the idea is you’re free to play around in that sandbox. And that’s very much, you know, what they’re going for. From an investment side and I want to pull this up here just so folks can get an idea of the numbers we’re talking about, there has been a tremendous amount of interest in this, you know, Square Enix, B Cryptos, and True Global Ventures.

They invested $2 million in cash in crypto in November ’20. And then in November 2021, SoftBank led a $93 million, so way more investment in the Sandbox. And then you have Andrew Cheng…I’m sorry, Adrian Cheng announced he will build virtual land in the Sandbox.

Heather: Oh, my gosh.

Scott: And then they raised $400 million at a valuation of more than $4 billion. That was in April 2022, so just a few months ago. So there’s a lot of investment in the Sandbox and in this metaverse there. And so then it goes back to, okay, well, that makes those NFTs owning this parcel of land tremendously valuable and have a lot of potential upside.

Now, then you look at the other side. Crypto’s been, kind of, taking it on the chin here recently in terms of the markets. You know, and I just want to share again here, so we can, kind of, look at the SAND token. Looking at their token, the token value, it’s gone down a little bit. You know, it hasn’t been just to the moon and a lot of folks are saying, well, does that mean that this doesn’t have value, that this is something that’s not going to take on?

I don’t necessarily believe that because I think that you also have, you know…this is still in their alpha. They had alpha, and they’re an alpha-2 for this game itself, for the development of it. And when you ever have something launched like that, you have a hype cycle.

Heather: Mm-hmm, of course.

Scott: And a lot of people are like, “Yes, Snoop Dogg’s interested.”

Heather: It’s new.

Scott: “Smurfs are here.”

Heather: Yeah, I got to get in.

Scott: We got to do this.

Heather: Well, right, becuase who doesn’t want to… Especially when you’re talking about just being an investor in general, who doesn’t want to be in the ground floor. Like, you want to be there at the beginning. You want to be a part of something new and exciting. So those hype cycles, I mean, I feel like we talk about hype cycles a lot and, sort of, dog on them. Like, they’re like fake excitement, but I actually think there’s an enormous value to the hype cycle, because the hype exists for a reason.

So, I don’t know.

Scott: Yeah, no. And I think to that point and whether you’re, you know, just collecting, trading, or you’re just interested in investment, what’s your investment thesis, and that’s what carries you through the hype cycles. So if you see everything we’re talking about here, you see this game that’s getting a lot of interest, you’re seeing all these partnerships, if that is something that you think, hey, long-term, clearly there’s a commitment here to develop.

Clearly there’s a roadmap here when we’re talking about this. Clearly there’s tons of money behind this and capital flowing into this.

Heather: And potential for partnerships. Like, they’re already…

Scott: Exactly. There’s all of that. Well then the hype cycles, you just, kind of, ride them, right?

Heather: Yes.

Scott: And maybe it matters, you know, on an individual level. If you have a parcel of land, there’s a lot of hype, okay, yeah, you sell high, buy low. That’s the idea. You know, or the other way around, which sometimes it doesn’t work out for people, but buy high, sell low.

Heather: I think that’s not a solid investment.

Scott: No, that’s not. I do not recommend that. Do not buy high and sell low. Please don’t.

Heather: Unless you want to.

Scott: Unless, you know…

Heather: It’s really your world. We’re just living in it.

Scott: It’s your Sandbox. So bottom line, yes, that can matter if you’re kind of following that flow. I mean, I think you would see…you know, whenever the Sandbox announces another partnership, whether it’s with another big name, another artist, another brand, whatever it might be. Well, yeah, you’re going to see…you’re likely to see some increases in price and interest.

Heather: So actually I have to stop you for a second, and I’m going to put you on the spot a little bit with this, but I noticed when you showed us the pattern of the token, that right around the time that you said there was that infusion of cash, that $400 million…oh, right as soon as they had that $400 million at the valuation of $4 billion, that’s when the token was at its lowest in the chart that you showed us.

Is there any correlation there between an announcement of a valuation and the performance of it?

Scott: You know, I would say it really depends on the project and the thought there. And, I mean, I think there’s a lot of folks that from an investor side, they, kind of, look at it where if there’s VC money flowing in, they’ll say, “Yeah, we’re going to issue a bunch of tokens.”

And if you’re a VC and you really believe in the project, then, you know, maybe you do get the tokens at a lower value, but then it will naturally start getting pushed back up, especially as announcements come out and things happen that way. So, I mean, I think they’re all playing the same game, you know, buy low, sell high, right? That’s the idea.

Heather: Buy high, sell low.

Scott: Buy high, sell low and, yeah, then get a bailout or something. I don’t know. So that’s the investment thesis for this. We’re talking about something that really has potential long-term value. So then I guess the next question becomes…

Heather: What is the future of it? Yeah, what does that long-term look like?

Scott: What does it look like? So there’s a few things. I mean, I think continuing to develop the game, and this is also a platform for people to develop games. So when you’re in the Sandbox, it’s not just, “Oh, I’m walking around and playing.” When you have land, you can build mini games on top of that, whether it’s, you know, any kind of thing. You know, a quiz or do a quest with this person or whatever it might be so there’s…

Heather: I want to go play in the Sandbox right now.

Scott: Exactly, exactly. There’s so much that could happen. We got to get in the Sandbox. You get a house. Heather and Scott will hang out. We’ll go to the Deadmau5 concert.

Heather: Yes.

Scott: And then go find…

Heather: I’m going to go flying with Smurfette.

Scott: I saw there was a quest. There was a quest to, like, find Papa Smurf. Like, you had to go and find him.

Heather: Are we done yet? Are we going to wrap this up and go find Papa Smurf?

Scott: We have to find Papa Smurf. But what’s in the future? Okay, so continuing to develop a game, continuing to, you know, I’m sure, have partnerships and all of that. I want to share this because there were concerns about cheating in the game. So they’re considering new KYC, know your customer, rules after cheaters threatened its future. So the Sandbox, they periodically have various contests and things of that nature, and winners are issued SAND.

So there was some cheating and some complaints of folks saying, “Oh, you know, so-and-so is using this exploit, therefore…” So, they’re going to try to crack down on that.

Like all of this, you have this, sort of, you know, play to earn model, you have real-world cash, and then also a currency that has real-world value. So that creates incentive. That creates motivation but…

Heather: I just want to note that when you’re talking about having the threat of cheaters, for example, and people are concerned about the game in relationship to that. I can’t help but feel like that all lives in the land of, like, “Nope, press is bad press,” right? If people are investing in cheating at a game that you’ve established, that means that people are involved.

Scott: There’s value.

Heather: That there’s value.

Scott: There’s people playing.

Heather: Yes, that it… Yes, it implies that there is value.

Scott: You know, I love that point, Heather, because if there were…

Heather: Like, why would you go cheat…

Scott: Why would you go cheat if there’s no benefit?

Heather: …something that didn’t have any…? Yes, that’s my point.

Scott: I go figure out how to count cards and go to Vegas.

Heather: Exactly. Yes. Exactly.

Scott: So, yeah, no, agreed. So cracking down on cheating, that’s one of the big things, more partnerships, and then, you know, again, increased interest, very wealthy people buying land and developing in the Sandbox. I want to share the screen yet again. Singaporean billionaires buy Decentraland and Sandbox Metaverse land.

So you have the Hong Kong billionaire, Lo family of Regal Hotels group. They’re building land in the… They’ve acquired, and they’re building in the Sandbox. So you have major, major capital flowing in and folks that own real world assets saying, “Hey, the metaverse, we want to get in on this, and we want to develop on this.”

Heather: Right, maybe I don’t want to rent it. Maybe I want to go to one of their hotels and stay for the night.

Scott: Stay for the night.

Heather: While I’m on my quest for Papa Smurf.

Scott: You go on your question for Papa Smurf.

Heather: I like a really nice bed and a mini bar when I’m on my quest for Papa Smurf.

Scott: Exactly, and then as you’re recovering from an excellent Deadmau5 concernt.

Heather: Exactly. I need to call for room service as I’m recovering from the Deadmau5 concert.

Scott: And then what’s great is that you find Papa Smurf because he drops off your room service and that’s…

Heather: Oh, my gosh.

Scott: That’s the end of the quest.

Heather: Yeah, the end of the quest is that Papa Smurf was looking for me.

Scott: So that is the Sandbox, certainly something worth keeping an eye on, certainly something worth considering, making part of your NFT portfolio, because clearly the development’s not going to be going away any time soon.

The partnerships are going to continue to happen, and that token is going to continue to have some kind of value, maybe even worth try to cheat for. So there you go.

Heather: We got to get going. We got to go play in the Sandbox.

Scott: All right.

Scott
Scott

Scott is a writer Cryptogic as well as host of the several popular podcasts.

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