The Sandbox will use the capital to enhance features and develop a decentralized metaverse for mobile devices.The valuation has sunk from $4 billion to $1 billion since 2022.SAND rose by 4.5% after the funding round was announced.Unmute

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Metaverse platform The Sandbox has raised $20 million at a $1 billion valuation as it looks to enhance its user-generated multiplayer gaming platform.

Kingsway Capital and Animoca Brands led the funding round, which featured investment from LG Tech Ventures and True Global Ventures, according to a press release.

In 2022, The Sandbox looked to raise $400 million at a $4 billion valuation.

The Sandbox’s native token SAND rose 4.5% after the funding round was announced, its market cap is now $1.1 billion, per CoinDesk data.

A portion of the capital will be used to develop a decentralized metaverse for mobile devices, which is expected to launch in 2025. The Sandbox will also update its Game Maker and 3D editor tools.

“McKinsey estimated that by 2030 the metaverse could add $5 trillion to the global economy," Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands, said. "Today, games like Minecraft and Roblox are some of the most popular titles in the world, but they do not provide their users with digital property rights. The Sandbox represents the evolution of UGC games for the age of digital ownership.”

The Sandbox has 5.7 million user accounts connected to crypto wallets, and more than 1,000 user-generated experiences have been created since the Alpha version went live in November 2023.

Edited by Parikshit Mishra.