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The popular virtual world of Decentraland (MANA) will host its first ever multiday music festival this week, headlining Deadmau5 and Paris Hilton. Over 80 artists will perform in the Metaverse Festival Oct. 21–24.
Other big names slated to play on the festival's five stages are Nina Nesbitt, RAC, DJ 3LAU, and many more. Each of the four days will follow a different theme, beginning with Water on day one and finishing with Metaverse on day four.
Festivalgoers will be able to buy digital merchandise. Fans can buy unique wearable NFTs for their avatars from merch stands near the main stage. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a form of digital collectible where the ownership information is built into the item. These digital items are booming right now and are a key component of virtual worlds.
Organizers even promise there'll be portable toilets for the full festival experience.
What is Decentraland?
Decentraland is a popular virtual universe, also known as a metaverse, that's built using blockchain technology. Players create their own avatars that they can use to explore this ever-growing universe.
It's a space where people can buy and develop virtual land (LAND) into anything they want. Users have built everything from virtual nightclubs to shops and museums. The businesses trade and earn money just as they would in the real world.
Decentraland is powered by two tokens:
- MANA: In-world money that also serves as a governance token
- LAND: Unique plots of land in the game (NFTs that can be bought with MANA)
How to attend the festival
The good news is that you don't need to own any LAND to attend the festival. You don't even need a wallet or Decentraland avatar, as long as you don't want to buy anything while you're there. Simply head to the festival homepage and click the "Join" button.
If you do want to spend money in Decentraland, you'll need a digital wallet that connects to your browser, such as MetaMask. MetaMask is a popular cryptocurrency wallet that allows you to connect to several decentralized applications. Decentraland is an Ethereum-based game, so be aware that you'll have to pay Ethereum (ETH) gas fees for transactions. These can be steep.
That said, festival sponsor Kraken plans to drop its NFTs on Polygon (MATIC) to reduce fees. Polygon is a layer-2 solution that sits on top of the Ethereum network and helps process transactions faster and cheaper.
Should you buy MANA?
If you're considering investing in MANA in the run-up to the festival, it's available on several top crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance.US, and Kraken.
However, it's never a great idea to buy a coin before a big event in the hopes of a short-term gain. There's a chance MANA's price will go up as festivalgoers splurge on virtual merchandise. But there's also a chance people will buy the rumor and sell the news, pushing MANA's price up before the big event and down again once the festival starts. That type of short-term speculation can be unpredictable.
Investing for the long term is a less stressful and often more profitable trading strategy. As such, research MANA as you would any other long-term investment -- look at whether you think it will be used by a lot of people, whether you understand its governance, and how it stacks up against the competition.
One interesting aspect of Decentraland is that you can also buy virtual real estate. Like ordinary real estate, this is not a decision to take lightly -- some plots are much more valuable than others, and you'll need to understand the pros and cons of each individual parcel of land. At time of writing, the cheapest plot was selling for 4,899 MANA (almost $3,700). The most expensive plot that's ever been sold went for over $900,000 earlier this year.
Bottom line
If you haven't yet visited Decentraland, perhaps the festival would be a good excuse to avatar up and get a taste of virtual life. But don't rush to buy the token -- or a plot of land -- just because you're scared of missing out. Take your time, do your research, and only invest money you can afford to lose.
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Emma Newbery owns Ethereum and Polygon.
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