As the 2021 bull run continues for fungible tokens (aka Bitcoin, Ethereum etc), the asset class of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is poised to catch up and take the crypto world by storm. The rise of NFTs coincides with the rise of metaverses, or parallel worlds where people are spending more and more of their time and money.

Known from the pre-blockchain era mainly through Second Life, blockchain metaverses have burst onto the scene. One such example is Upland, a metaverse that has shown strong growth over the past three months and is now one of the top 3 blockchain dapps in terms of daily active users. 

Upland is an EOS blockchain-powered metaverse that allows players to own virtual properties that are mapped to real-world addresses. Upland launched in San Francisco in 2019 and recently expanded to New York City, NY and Fresno, CA with the planned addition of new cities arriving in the near future. Note that you don’t need to be in one of these cities to play Upland, it can be played from anywhere in the world. As Upland expands and properties from across the world become tokenized, every real-life property will one day have a virtual version of itself located in Upland. Virtual property will be as ubiquitous and valuable as property in real life, and Upland is leading the charge to make that happen.

In order to participate, users need to purchase virtual land which themselves are unique, non-fungible tokens. Since every property NFT is a 1/1 edition of itself, it can be expected that as more people join, land prices for these NFT properties will appreciate because of the scarcity factor built-in to digital metaverses. In fact, Upland recently auctioned the New York Stock Exchange for a jaw-dropping $23,000 USD, or 23,000,000 UPX.

Upland follows the principles of an open market economy and uses blockchain technology to ensure true ownership of digital assets: once you purchase a property, it is yours to own forever. Each property parcel is a unique NFT that can be bought, sold, and traded for-profit using the in-game currency called UPX. Upland has an active partnership with Tilia Pay (a subsidiary Linden Labs, the makers of Second Life) that allows players to sell NFT properties for U.S. Dollars. While it is currently in beta, this feature will soon be available to all Uplanders. This makes Upland the first metaverse to allow the conversion of digital asset value into a real-world value-form, fiat money.

As a digital landowner in Upland, you earn a monthly yield of UPX coins that can be used to purchase more properties. Upland’s product roadmap is focused on the user-driven development and construction of single-family homes, real businesses, and cultural centers, including art galleries, on their NFT property parcels.

 Since fully-fledged property development is around the corner, Upland recently tested their new 3D building tools with a series of competitions called The Sandbox Wars, designed around a “property development sandbox" that allowed Uplanders to experiment with these new features. 

 The Sandbox Wars provide an interesting case study with regards to the future potential of Upland’s property development mechanics.

 Here’s how it worked: The Sandbox Wars pit different Upland neighbourhoods against each other in a unique game of strategy. Players built alliances while working against other organically formed neighbourhoods teams, both scoring points for their own team while attacking the points of their opponents. Neighbourhoods gained points by building structures like apartment buildings and houses, but also strategically built cell towers to detract from other neighbourhoods’ points. Construction was made possible by using Spud, a unique in-game utility token that is “staked” when constructing a building: the more spud “staked” against a building, the faster it will build. This is a preview of how property development will actually function in Upland following the launch of Upland’s resource token Spark in 2021.

This is only just the beginning. There’s never been more fun to enter the Upland Metaverse, so join today using this special link for a doubled signup bonus! Available on both mobile and web: https://discover.upland.me/blockchainnews_01_2021