Credit: Dominic Bayley
If you can’t afford to buy a mega yacht in real life, chances are you’re going to be priced out of online bidding for the virtual equivalent too. That’s the realization dawning on investors in the metaverse as sales of virtual land, virtual art and the latest big shock purchase – a virtual super yacht - break new records online.
Credit: Dominic Bayley The ‘Metaflower Super Mega Yacht,’ created by metaverse developer, Republic Realm, fetched a whopping 149ETH at an auction earlier in the month (that’s approximately AU$908K by conversion today), a figure that unsurprisingly marks a new milestone in the sale of virtual NFTs for the metaverse world, The Sandbox.
The Metaflower, which belongs to The Sandbox’s Fantasy Collection of NFTs, is said to be an ultra-luxurious craft featuring a helicopter landing pad, hot tub and DJ booth, among other features. It also comes with its own virtual ‘Fantasy Marina,’ which is the showpiece virtual building in The Sandbox, according to the company.
Congrats to the new owner of The Metaflower NFT Super Mega Yacht on making metaverse NFT history. This auction marks the highest price paid for a @TheSandboxGame NFT asset at 149 ETH ($650,000), and an exciting time for every member of the Fantasy Community. pic.twitter.com/Nl0278JbOT
— Republic Realm (@joinrepublic_re) November 24, 2021
If you’re unfamiliar with The Sandbox, it’s an Ethereum-based blockchain project where users play, create, and explore in a virtual world akin to Minecraft. Like other metaverse worlds, each item in The Sandbox has a real-life value and can be bought or sold, but yet is essentially just made from ordinary pixels.
The Sandbox was once a mobile and PC game, but it was purchased by Animoca Brands in August 2018, and since then has been brought into the blockchain, where large swathes of money are currently being thrown around by investors to buy its assets.
The Sandbox has also garnered high profile support, most notably from rapper Snoop Dogg, who among other collaborations, has recreated his pool mansion, dog and vehicles, as part of a Snoop Dog Collection sale.
Interest in the metaverse skyrocketed back in October 2021, when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, announced that he wants Facebook to become part of the metaverse. "Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company and I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we're building towards," he said.
