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Buying virtual plots of land became the new normal in 2021 as investors jumped to alternative investing trends.

Sales of virtual land boomed towards the latter half of the year, with NFT-based worlds raking in millions.

Insider compiled a list of the six most popular tokens you can use to buy land in the metaverse.

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Virtual real estate, or land in the metaverse, sold in the form of

non-fungible tokens

is growing in popularity.

You can't physically visit these properties, but the allure of this investment lies in these assets being backed by forgery-proof certificates stored on the blockchain.

This trend has been

grabbing the attention

of those seeking to deploy money into new ways of investing in real estate. People are willing to spend six figures on them, betting that they can make a fortune. Some expect

triple-digit growth

in the next 16 months.

Virtual real estate isn't really a new concept. One of the first companies to enter the space was Metaverse Group, which operates the virtual 'Decentraland' platform. But ever since

Facebook rebranded to Meta

, the idea has gained immense interest, with investors speculating on the knock-on effect on various metaverse games and their respective crypto tokens.

Properties in the NFT-based worlds of Axie Infinity, Decentraland, and The Sandbox are especially popular. Corresponding cryptocurrency prices of these projects have skyrocketed too, with Decentraland's MANA token

up 4,258%

in the last year. Google results show search volumes for these terms shot up in just a short time, with public interest being sparked only in recent months.

Metaverse searches

Google Trends

Sales of virtual land

boomed at the start of December, bringing in over $105 million for just four metaverse projects, according to DappRadar. Of that, gaming platform Sandbox dominated with $86.56 million in NFT sales, while Decentraland came in second.

The decision to choose which metaverse token to buy depends on the platform you wish to explore. Each virtual world has its own unique token allowing users to make digital land purchases.

To access the metaverse, you will most likely be asked to set up a crypto wallet to hold your digital assets. This allows you to convert fiat money into cryptocurrency via an online payment system. These tokens can be found on most popular crypto exchanges — including Coinbase, Binance, and Gemini — that guide you through a straightforward process.

Here are some of the most popular tokens you can use to buy a plot of land in the metaverse:

1. Ether

Symbol:

ETH

YTD Returns:

401%

Market Cap:

$448 billion

Story continues

The ethereum network is at the heart of the modern crypto ecosystem.

SOPA Images/Getty

2. Axie Infinity

Symbol:

AXS

YTD Returns:

18,016%

Market Cap:

$6.5 billion

Image of NFT game Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity Media Kit

3. Sandbox

Symbol:

SAND

YTD Returns:

16,853%

Market Cap:

$5.6 billion

The Sandbox is one crypto-based metaverse that is attracting attention.

The Sandbox

4. Decentraland

Symbol:

MANA

YTD Returns:

4,219%

Market Cap:

$4.4 billion

Decentraland allows users to buy and sell virtual real estate.

Decentraland

5. Gala

Symbol:

GALA

YTD Returns:

28,477%

Market Cap:

$3.5 billion

Gala Games

Gala Games

6. Enjin Coin

Symbol:

ENJ

YTD Returns:

1,971%

Market Cap:

$2.5 billion

Enjin Coin

Enjin

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