Over the past years, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have won the hearts of many in the art world, becoming artists’ new source of income. Aside from that, the concept of virtual worlds is rapidly expanding in the Bitcoin field due to the introduction of VR projects utilizing blockchain technology. Additionally, there are many intriguing NFT games and interesting metaverse coins to invest in.
While you might not know other ways to obtain cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, except personal investment, purchasing them through exchanges is the most common.
However, you may mine coins on your computer as well. Whether you want to mine cryptocurrency for personal gains or need to know more about the innovations, you need to understand how they work.
In this article, we’ll take you through information about Decentraland (MANA). MANA mining is possible on Decentraland but before that, let’s explain the keywords here, which include Decentraland, MANA, and crypto mining.
What Is Decentraland?
Decentraland is a virtual reality software created by two Argentine geniuses, Esteban Ordano and Ariel Meilich in 2015. It first became accessible to the public in February 2020 after a series of development. The software is powered by the Ethereum blockchain and managed by the non-profit Decentraland Foundation – a company created by the founders.
It is a browser-based platform for 3D virtual worlds, and all transactions take place using the MANA cryptocurrency, which also operates on the Ethereum blockchain. The MANA coin functions as a utility token to complete any in-game transaction.
Through this user-oriented design, individuals can purchase virtual land parcels on the platform as NFTs. And with cool features like lands, avatars, identities, and virtual objects, users get to enjoy virtual life and activities.
Parcels of Land in Decentraland
The Decentraland Metaverse is like virtual earth. But unlike our earth, there are only 90,000 unique parcels of land on it. With that, every player in Decentraland has one primary goal – to own land. Players who have acquired lands are steps closer to building their empires on the Decentraland Metaverse.
This is because once you buy land, you reserve the right to do anything with it. This virtual-legal right allows players to build their homes, organize concerts and bars, build art galleries to display & sell NFT artworks, and do many things to generate money. You should note that players are recognized as landowners through the use of smart contract technology.
Interestingly, all features on Decentraland are user-oriented. To ensure this, the founding team established a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) before launching the platform to give users control over the initiative. The founding team also asserts that the private key that managed the smart contract for Decentraland was destroyed.
How Does Decentraland Work?
Decentraland is built to give room and keep track of ownership of land (digital assets) using Ethereum blockchain-based technology. To participate in in-game activities, each player has to possess enough MANA tokens in their Ethereum wallets.
In addition, users are free to innovate on the Decentraland platform by creating animations and user interfaces for their digital properties, thus, embracing creativity.
To attract users to the LANDs, there are two ways to get that done:
Marketplace and Builder
The Decentraland team has also made available a marketplace and a drag-and-drop editor that users can use to create settings outside the gaming environment.
Participants can exchange and manage LAND tokens valued in MANA on the market. Owners can exchange or trade parcels and other in-game products like wearables and unique names through the marketplace.
The Decentraland SDK
The Decentraland SDK allows tech-inclined players to freely write codes throughout the software and construct countless masterpieces on their lands using their coding talents. Features of the SDK include gesturing, voice chat, texting, and other peer-to-peer interactions.
With the help of Decentraland’s construction tools, users can create amazing environmental designs inside their LAND parcels. Interactive scenes are developed through its editing tool, which allows users to access custom libraries and payment implementations.
In addition, you can purchase any digital content on Polygon chain’s OpenSea Marketplace. And you should note that all transactions are resolved between Ethereum wallets. This means that they are all registered by the Ethereum network and recorded on its blockchain.
What Makes Decentraland Unique?
The primary distinctive elements of Decentraland are the Builder, Marketplace, Decentraland SDK, and the decentralized governance concept. However, considering the NFT Marketplace, OpenSea, and Decentraland Marketplace are provided in the Metaverse to connect all users concerning trading activities.
Decentraland’s Metaverse offers a breathtaking virtual reality that makes users feel like they are in a second existence. Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)-based software was utilized to run the platform, making it the most popular decentralized game in the world.
Using MANA tokens, players can participate in any governance ideas to enhance in-game rules and auction procedures. Also, the Decentraland DAO allows users to exchange their MANA tokens for governance rights.
Tokens That Govern Operations in Decentraland
Decentraland possesses two types of tokens. These tokens have equally important purposes, although their uses are different. They include:
- LAND — A non-fungible token (NFT) used to specify who owns land parcels. Land parcels represent virtual assets/properties.
- MANA — makes it easier to buy LAND as well as other digital items and services necessary in Decentraland.
What Is MANA token And What Gives It Value?
MANA is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that is fungible on the Decentraland platform. You can exchange this token for in-game goods. It can also be used as a governance token to submit proposals for any platform-related demands, such as policy changes, land sales, and subsidiaries for in-game expansions.
The MANA coins have a finite supply and will be burned by Decentraland at the cost of the land after being used for the land’s auction. As of January 16, 2022, the supply of MANA coins has decreased from its initial amount of 2,800,000,000 MANA to 2,194,008,027 MANA.
There are several ways to obtain MANA coins, which include buying them on the Digital Asset Exchange Center or trading them on the Decentraland Marketplace or other NFT markets like OpenSea.
Why does MANA matter?
MANA is a crucial component of Decentraland’s virtual ecosystem and can be utilized for various virtual transactions and software administration. For instance, having MANA gives users access to the platform’s features, such as avatar customization, user interaction, and metaverse exploration.
Additionally, users who own MANA can vote on platform improvements such as LAND auctions, policy modifications, and subsidies. The MANA tokens used to buy the parcels at auction are burned or withdrawn from circulation, reducing the MANA supply. As the platform expands with additional users, this could put pressure on the token value.
Can You Mine Crypto?
Most people consider cryptocurrency mining to be another new way of making money. However, crypto mining involves:
- Generating new digital currencies.
- Adding the exchanges to a disseminated record.
- Approving them on a blockchain network.
Essentially, it stops digital currencies from being used twice on a decentralized network. You can simply put crypto mining as producing new virtual “coins.”
But that’s where the simplicity ends. You’ll need to work out challenging puzzles, verify cryptocurrency transactions on a blockchain network, and add the transactions to a distributed ledger to find those coins.
When a miner uses Bitcoin, the digital ledger must be updated by debiting one account and crediting the other, just like with physical money. However, the difficulty with a digital currency is how readily digital systems can be manipulated. With this, safety preventive measures are in place.
For instance, only verified miners can update transactions on the digital ledger using Bitcoin’s distributed ledger. This way, they help to secure the network against double-spending.
Since dispersed records are decentralized, mining is fundamental for confirming exchanges. By taking part in the validation process and receiving freshly created coins as compensation, miners are encouraged to safeguard the network.
How Does Crypto Mining Work?
Crypto miners crack encryption codes by using computers to solve complicated mathematical calculations. You can approve the transaction after deciphering a code. You receive cryptocurrency in exchange.
The public ledger known as the blockchain, which is protected by these several encryptions, is updated with the data when a miner correctly solves the mathematical equation and confirms the transaction.
Proof-of-Work
A proof-of-work consensus system guarantees that only trusted crypto miners can mine and confirm transactions. The network is protected from outside threats thanks to this protocol. Proof-of-work is one method for publishing the most recent block in the chain.
The actual labor is carried out by miners, whose computers make countless calculations to convert an input into the desired output. A chain of unbroken blocks that extends back to the first block is created when each block employs a hash function to refer to the block before it.
Because of this, peers on the network can quickly determine if specific blocks are legitimate and whether the miners that verified each block correctly solved the hash to obtain the reward.
The complexity of equations on the network rises with time as miners use highly sophisticated equipment to solve PoW (proof of work). The competition among miners also intensifies at the same time, which increases the cryptocurrency’s scarcity level.
The network then double-checks to ensure everything is working and running as it should once the first miner produces the necessary output and shares it with the network. If so, the miner receives cryptocurrency as payment.
Proof-of-Stake
A proof-of-stake is another method used for verifying blockchain transactions, although there is no technical mining. As a result, bitcoin users can use their existing holdings as collateral to stake a claim to being the one to validate a block. Each block requires multiple validators chosen randomly from the pool of applicants who have posted their collaterals.
Proof-of-stake is more energy-efficient than proof-of-work because fewer people are required to use the energy needed to validate the blockchain. They are all rewarded with coins, as opposed to more people competing to validate the blockchain first and ultimately wasting a lot of computing power.
Can You Mine MANA on Decentraland?
Yes! MANA mining is possible on Decentraland.
If you want to mine Decentraland, you should first spend some time figuring out whether your setup will make you any money. Prices for Decentraland might change, and the number of miners will also determine your chances of profiting.
Consider how worthwhile setting up a mining rig would be at the current MANA price. The most effective hardware for mining would be ASICs, which are regrettably now very expensive. A GPU won’t produce much when mining on a computer, but it might be something to try when mining Decentraland.
You can consult charts of mining benefits to know how much cash you can make per Mh/s of hash rate. Electricity costs are also included in these charts. In essence, your hash rate indicates how much processing power you contribute to mining new blocks.
Block time is required for this. Don’t forget that the number of miners and the need for a higher hash rate contribute to increasing mining difficulty.
How To Mine Decentraland (MANA)
Knowing that Decentraland is built on the Ethereum blockchain, let’s examine how to mine Decentraland (MANA).
The steps include:
- Having a wallet with a public address attached to it. This way, you can easily receive the coins you want to mine. Examples of wallets you can get include Binance, Crypto, and Guarda, as well as Trust Wallet and Atomic Wallet.
- Download the Unmineable Miner Software. Users say that the software has in-built configurations that make it a very good mining tool.
- Run the program as administrator.
- A page will open, and you can choose either CPU or GPU cards.
- No matter your previous choice, you will be directed to a new page where you will input your MANA address and other details.
- Click on START.
However, you should adjust your computer, like disabling sleep mode, keeping it connected to a power source, or disabling the updates. This is because you want to keep your computer system on while you mine your MANA coin.
Conclusion
Should you want to become a cryptocurrency miner, you must be determined and interested. This is because new technologies surface, and the crypto-mining industry is constantly evolving.
And that is why you should be on your toes at all times. Do not forget that the best miners are those who study the crypto-mining space and improve their skills to achieve their desired output.
We hope that you find it explanatory with our guide on mining MANA. Good luck as you start mining MANA on Decentraland.
