The Sandbox Raises at $1B Valuation
Crypto gaming startup The Sandbox has raised $20M at a $1B valuation. Kingsway Capital and Animoca Brands led the investment, which was supported by LG Tech Ventures and True Global Ventures.
What's the scoop?
- Token Reaction: Following the funding announcement, the SAND token increased by 4.5%, though this new round speaks to the broader challenges in the NFT and gaming spaces. The company’s private valuation went from a targeted $4B in 2022 to an actualized $1B today.
- Future Plans: The capital will go towards enhancing features and developing a decentralized metaverse for mobile devices, which is expected to launch in 2025. Updates to some of its other tools are also planned.
Bankless Take:
While the “metaverse” stood out as a central narrative last cycle, we have yet to see it return to those heights this time around. That being said, the ability to build one’s own metaverse for friends or a community remains an intriguing prospect, evident from the reported 5.7M users and >1K unique experiences developed via The Sandbox since its Alpha release last November.
With projections that the metaverse may add $5T to the global economy by 2030, this forever sought-after virtual land continues to draw investment, especially from the Web3 angle that believes digital ownership via blockchains would be a way for users, not just providers like Minecraft or Roblox, to share these riches.