The frantic metaverse land grab is likely to persist in 2022 as investors realize virtual real estate equals cash, predictive analytics firm says

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Decentraland press kit

The mad dash for virtual land is likely just beginning.

Real estate sales in metaverses like Decentraland and the Sandbox — where plots have sold for millions of dollars — are likely set to continue at a brisk pace before peaking in May, though interest will remain high even after, according to predictive analytics firm NWO.ai.

«We're really seeing the utility of these properties rising; we're seeing that people can make actual money, that buying these properties equals cash. That is going to drive those sales,» said Julia Myers, a machine-learning engineer at NWO.

NWO, an artificial intelligence startup that launched almost three years ago, tracks millions of texts like news articles, social media platforms Twitter and Reddit, and Google Search, among other things, in order to predict broader emerging narratives. For example, NWO said its AI foresaw millions of retail traders driving massive gains in meme stock companies like GameStop a year ago, and it predicted troubles for Chinese real estate company Evergrande.

Conversations around the metaverse, a virtual world where people can interact, shop, and game as avatars, have been robust. According to Grayscale, the metaverse represents a $1 trillion market opportunity. In a recent newsletter, NWO said, «The hype has the numbers to back it up: over $100 million has already been spent on metaverse land plots.»

In the last year, there have been eye-popping virtual real-estate sales, like the $4.3 million plot of Sandbox land sold to Republic Realm. Meanwhile, conversations around metaverse land rentals are also skyrocketing as companies like Tokens.com rent space in Decentraland for major events, including the first-ever metaverse Fashion Week — where