Blockchain entrepreneur, Sebastien Borget expressed to CXposé.tech that the virtual economy will grow to become bigger than the physical world economy, as more and more users spend time in digital worlds to buy digital assets. This could be what the metaverse shapes up to be, and The Sandbox is focused on driving this.
The Sandbox, is a decentralized virtual world platform that uses blockchain technology and NFTs to empower creators to build, own, and monetize their own digital assets, games, and experiences. “The metaverse is far from dead,” asserted Sebastien Borget, co-founder and CEO of The Sandbox.
“Just because you don’t hear about it constantly in the news doesn’t mean companies aren’t building solutions in Web3 and metaverse to deliver immersive experiences.”
Sebastien Borget and Cat Yong in Hong Kong during the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2024
The Sandbox itself has taken a pragmatic approach to metaverse development, focusing on accessibility and user empowerment rather than pushing technological boundaries.
Their platform runs on desktop computers and will soon expand to mobile devices, a strategy that deliberately bypasses the need to use VR and AR goggles which the industry views as a signature characteristic of a metaverse.
Without the limitation of requiring costly hardware, The Sandbox has been able to amass an impressive user base of 6 million people, with 260,000 unique visitors actively engaging with the platform.
The Sandbox: What is it doing differently?
Sebastien sees The Sandbox as part of the larger metaverse, where users can move seamlessly between different virtual worlds and platforms.
It focuses on making immersive worlds accessible through its no-code tools and partnerships with major brands. “Being Web3, we deliver digital assets and also create fun and immersive content that can also bridge to the physical world.”
The AIA Carnival is a successful example of experiences in real life (IRL) being replicated as experiences in the virtual world. In a 2023 press release, Sebastien had described, “As the AIA Carnival returns for the first time in four years, visitors can now enjoy the AIA Carnival in-person on the Central Harbourfront – and also on The Sandbox platform.” In fact, visitors to the IRL carnival were able to purchase popcorn or drinks with The Sandbox’s SAND tokens, allowing the utility token to have physical world applications.
The Sandbox is a great example of building loyalty and engagement for fans and the community, due its accessibility for visitors and builders alike. “Because of the low-code aspect we have onboarded millions of users through our partnerships and brands.
“We have an active ecosystem represented by content creators, studios, and agencies around the world that are onboarding as well as new clients and new partners creating their own content.”
To date, there are over 1500 live experiences created by this ecosystem.
In Hong Kong, where CXposé.tech and Sebastien were attending Cyberport’s Capital Venture Forum 2024, Sebastien had been busy meeting the various actors in the local ecosystem to update them with the latest capabilities that AI and Web3 can enable for them, as well as the latest metrics.
“We have 6 million users and 260,000 unique visitors. That’s exciting,” Sebastien emphasized.
The Sandbox economy
Sebastien who is also a mobile games producer believes the virtual economy will eventually outgrow the physical world economy as more users spend time and money in digital worlds. “But, we are still early on in that journey,” he also pointed out.
The economy in Sandbox can be measured by its overall activity – how much has been sold and purchased on the marketplace in terms of land, in terms of assets like NFTs and avatars and other user-generated content.
“It is over USD10 million every year already, and it is poised to keep growing as we focus on onboarding more and more creators. We have increased creator capabilities and in turn creators are publishing their experiences on the map, meaning they are also attracting more audiences to their own ‘lands’ and ‘experiences’.”
A few of the many activities that can be found in the virtual universe, The Sandbox.
During the interview, Sebastien also estimated its utility token, Sand, to have a market cap of USD800 million, while the value of its map is estimated to be USD1 billion. IF this was seen as the GDP that The Sandbox as a land produces, it could be comparable to the GDP value of certain real world countries, which is exciting.
Safety and identity in the virtual world
While the metaverse offers unprecedented freedom for self-expression and community building, The Sandbox recognizes the importance of security and privacy. The platform implements various safety measures to address these two aspects while a user participates in the virtual world, as well as IRL.
“In the virtual world, we are all starting afresh. We can choose our appearance, the community we are a part of, the digital assets we own and purchase.
“But at same time, we exist in the physical world. We are still one person and we combine those two realities by requiring a user to verify himself or herself, when they want to claim a reward or buy something, for example.”
“We have an active ecosystem represented by content creators, studios, and agencies around the world that are onboarding as well as new clients and new partners creating their own content.”
KYC (Know Your Customer) verification is important and it is best practice to check official identity documents, but The Sandbox also needs to ensure the user isn’t one with bad intentions.
To address potential negative elements like obscenities, abusive, and harassment-like words and action, there is AI-powered moderation across multiple languages as well as tools and guidelines to enable self-moderation. “So, the communities monitor themselves as well, and sometimes report bad behavior to promote a safe and enjoyable environment.”
Sebastien is optimistic about the continued progress and growth of the metaverse, with The Sandbox playing a key role in driving adoption and development in this space. Events like the AIA Carnival which blur the lines between both digital and physical also highlight the continued relevance and potential of the metaverse in creating engagement and community.
