The Sandbox(SAND)

The Sandbox is a blockchain-based decentralized virtual gaming metaverse run on Ethereum. Built by combining the features of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), The Sandbox allows users to create, build, buy, and sell digital assets using its native utility token SAND as its in-game currency.

Launched back in 2011, The Sandbox is the brainchild of Arthur Madrid and Sebastian Borget, co-founders of Pixowl. In 2018 Animoca acquired Pixowl, announcing its goal to create a 3D sandbox-style game using blockchain technology. In August 2020, The Sandbox raised $3 million for future operations through an initial coin offering (ICO).

The Sandbox is unique from other crypto metaverse projects as it aims to integrate blockchain technology into mainstream gaming by facilitating a ‘play-to-earn’ (P2E) model, where players who have no previous coding skills can contribute to the platform's ecosystem as creators and gamers simultaneously. With SAND serving as a utility token, SAND holders are also able to exercise their right to vote on crucial decisions regarding the governance of the network via a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

SAND price

According to our SAND/USDT live price chart, SAND registered an all-time high of $0.09 on Aug. 14, 2020, however, after that the token failed to show any noteworthy rallies until Q1 of 2021 when it saw its first bull run, going from $0.04 on Dec. 24, 2021, to around $0.1 on Jan. 21, 2021 — marking a gain of 312%.

However, SAND continued this upward trend in the coming months as it set a new all-time high, going from $0.09 on Jan. 28, 2021, to $0.9 on March 28, 2021 — a whopping gain of around 970%. However, as the broader crypto market was hit by a severe crash in May 2021, SAND lost most of its gains.

It wasn't until June when SAND price started to move again as it rallied from $0.1 to around $1.2 by Aug. 30, 2021. Although the token fell under $1 again in the coming months, it set a new strong rally in autumn of 2021 when Adidas announced it would be partnering with the Metaverse gaming project, this saw the token jumping from $0.7 on Oct. 20, 2021, to just above $8. on Nov. 25, 2021 — a surge of 1,000%+ in just 36 days, marking a new all-time high. This put SAND’s fully diluted valuation at $24 billion.

SAND could not, however, hold on to these gains as the crypto market saw another crash in 2022. While SAND price traded below $1 in May 2022, it remains a popular gaming/metaverse token, ranking in the top 3 for the category, under ApeCoin (APE) and Decentraland (MANA).

How SAND works

At its core, The Sandbox Metaverse uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism where stakeholders with the biggest holdings ensure that the platform is secure and transactions are carried out smoothly. The system rewards stakers a share from the SAND pool depending on how much they have staked.

The Sandbox also allows players to buy digital land, called LAND, which is limited to 166,464 NFTs. Players can populate their LAND with their own creative ideas to share with other players. Some of the key components in The Sandbox include:

SAND: SAND is the platform's main utility ERC-20 token used to facilitate in-game transactions like purchasing LAND, interaction with user-generated content (UGC), and staking to vote on the the decentralized autonomous organization's (DAO) governance.

Asset tokens or Non-fungible tokens (NFT): These tokens are ERC-1155 and ERC-721 tokens, more commonly knowns as NFTs. These are in-game items that can be bought to inhabit your LAND, like avatars, animations, etc, which can be traded/bought on The Sandbox marketplace.

While The Sandbox uses a rather simple straightforward consensus mechanism, the blockchain gaming platform offers some intricate yet easy-to-use development tools to help players create, build, sell, and populate their LAND even if they have no prior coding knowledge. 

The Sandbox gaming ecosystem offers three integrated services that together provide a broad experience for user-generated content (UGC) production:

VoxEditor: The main element of The Sandbox game are 3D pixels called voxels. The 3D voxel modeling package allows users to create animated 3D objects such as characters, foliage, animals, and avatar-oriented equipment (clothes, weapons, etc), these objects can then be exported to The Sandbox marketplace to become game ASSETS.

Marketplace: The Sandbox marketplace allows users to upload, publish, and sell the digital assets (ASSETS) they created to other Sandbox players. However, before these ASSETS can be bought and sold using SAND, they are first registered as ERC-1155 and ERC-721 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.

Game Maker: The third and final most important ecosystem product is the Game Maker. Game Maker allows users to build and place ASSETS they created or bought from The Sandbox marketplace on their LAND. Game Maker also lets creators implement unique gameplay mechanics to ASSETS, turning each LAND into a potential fully developed game.

SAND news, updates, and highlights

The Sandbox made a $3 million token sale through the Binance launchpad in Aug. 2020. The initial exchange offering (IEO) took place on Aug. 13, via a lottery format through the Binance platform. The Sandbox has also already secured 50 partnerships with renowned companies, one of them being Square Enix, a Japanese game developer, and publisher who helped raise $2 million through an investment round in 2019.

In September 2021, The Sandbox announced that legendary rapper Snoop Dogg would be joining its Metaverse. The rapper would be setting up his mansion, NFT collection, and performing live concerts in the games Metaverse. Furthermore, The Sandbox would be offering Snoop Dogg avatars available for purchase. It would also be introducing carefully designed and curated virtual Doggfather items like his personal car collection, NFT art, dogs, and much more. 

During a fundraiser in Nov. 2021, The Sandbox raised a whopping $93 million through SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. The funds would be put towards the growth of The Sandbox creator’s economy as the platform expands into virtual concerts, fashion, and architecture. 

In Q4 of 2021, the sports apparel giant Adidas confirmed that it would be partnering with The Sandbox to develop an “adiVerse”, a virtual footwear wall with the Metaverse platform. The sportswear company purchased LAND on The Sandbox hinting at future NFT projects which saw SAND’s price rally on Nov. 25, 2021.

Frequently asked questions about SAND

• Can you mine or stake SAND?

The SAND token is secured on the Ethereum blockchain using the proof-of-stake(PoS) consensus mechanism, which means it cannot be mined. However, it can be staked to earn rewards, with your earnings depending on how much you stake. 

• What are some of the best SAND wallets?

SAND is an ERC-20 token which means it can be stored on both online and hardware wallets. The Sandbox does not provide its own wallet but you can use MetaMask, Atomic Wallet, and Trust Wallet. However, if you are more interested in hardware wallets, Ledger Nano S and Trezor One are suitable options.

• What can you do with SAND?

Users can use SAND tokens to vote on the ecosystem's governance via a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), buy LAND in The Sandbox, stake them to earn rewards or trade them for other cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH. 

• How to buy SAND?

You can buy SAND against SAND/BTC, SAND/ETH, and SAND/USDT trading pairs on exchanges like OKX and HitBTC and MEXC, or by using fiat currency with on-ramp services.