It’s the question every metaverse watcher is asking. Is one of the largest, most valuable metaverse ventures thus far effectively a ghost town whose days are numbered?
The story began to swirl when the Cyber Samurai NFT project founder, who goes by the Twitter handle @0x_shake recently pointed out that Decentraland only has 30 daily users with figures coming from reputable stats house, DappRadar.
Decentraland ( $MANA ) has 30 Daily Active Users
and a $1.2 Billion Market Cap pic.twitter.com/u4MBNsWvwk
— SHAKE (@0x_shake) October 6, 2022
It’s a figure that caught many by surprise and one which has shone a bright light of doubt upon Decentraland’s valuation of $1.2 billion.
The discrepancy has led to some questioning the validity of the report. Additionally, a second source indicates that the metaverse platform does in fact have several hundred daily active users… However, both figures are still extremely low when the platform’s supposed worth is taken into consideration.
Trouble in Decentraland
Decentraland is a decentralized metaverse that is home to various VR experiences from a host of big name brands. Heineken released the first virtual beer, Heineken Silver in Decentraland in March. Famed bank, J.P. Morgan has set up a presence on the platform as well, Dubbed the Onyx, the VR bank experience includes a virtual tiger that paces across the room. And beyond branded content, Decentraland is also the first metaverse to welcome a virtual hotel.
The platform is Ethereum-based and allows its users to create and monetize content and utilizes MANA and LAND tokens. MANA is necessary to acquire LAND and must be purchased from either OpenSea or the Decentraland MarketPlace. LAND is then used to purchase virtual goods within the platform. Unfortunately, in-game tokens are declining in value due to the low level of daily active users in the metaverse. And yes, this includes Decentraland’s MANA token.
Sam Reynolds, a Coindesk reporter replied to @0x_shake explaining how DaapRadar determines the number of daily active users:
“DappRadar measures the number of users that are interacting with the Decentraland smart contracts,” tweeted Reynolds. “I’ve gotten some pushback from Decentraland PR before about using these figures, but I think they are fair.”
This means the number of daily active users is likely being under-reported as users may be active without completing smart contract tasks.
Disputing the figures
There’s a slightly different take on the numbers over at, dapp.com measures active users by how many wallets interact with smart contracts. According to this data, Decentraland averages 600 users daily. While much larger than the 30 daily active users estimate its still a paltry sum of users for a metaverse.
Needless to say Decentraland have their own take on figures, commenting “When discussing the number of DAU or MAU in Decentraland, it’s worth keeping in mind that Decentraland is not a company and that it doesn’t view users as a product by which to measure success,” and writing a lengthy blog dismissing the matter.
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
