The Sandbox, a leading metaverse platform, has announced a significant funding round, raising $20 million in convertible promissory notes at a valuation of $1 billion. The funding round was led by Kingsway Capital, LG Tech Ventures, and True Global Ventures, and marks a major milestone for the platform as it continues to gain traction in the metaverse space.

The Sandbox plans to utilize the funding to expand its creator economy, which has been a key focus for the platform since its inception. The creator economy allows users to create, sell, and own digital assets in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and has been a major driver of growth for the platform. With this funding, The Sandbox aims to enhance gameplay options, upgrade its Game Maker and VoxEdit 3D editing tools, and add new social features and avatar skills.

Despite the bearish sentiment in the metaverse space, The Sandbox has seen significant growth in the past year, with over 330,000 unique creators joining the platform. The platform boasts an impressive 5.7 million user accounts linked to cryptocurrency wallets, and has seen over 1,000 user-generated experiences developed since its Alpha version launched in November 2023.

The Sandbox's focus on digital ownership and creator monetization has set it apart from other metaverse projects, and has been praised by industry experts. Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu noted that popular games like Minecraft and Roblox, with millions of daily users, do not offer their users digital property rights, and that The Sandbox represents "the evolution of UGC games for the age of digital ownership."

The metaverse space is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, with investment management firm McKinsey & Company projecting a metaverse economy to grow to $5 trillion by 2030. However, despite the early hype around the concept, many metaverse projects have struggled to gain user traction since the bear market of 2022-2023. The Sandbox's success in this space is a testament to its innovative approach and commitment to empowering creators.

With this funding round, The Sandbox is poised for further growth and adoption in the metaverse space. The platform's decentralized mobile metaverse platform is expected to launch in 2025, and will offer users a seamless and immersive experience across multiple devices.

Key points:

- The Sandbox raises $20 million at a $1 billion valuation

- Funding led by Kingsway Capital, LG Tech Ventures, and True Global Ventures

- Funds will be used to expand creator economy and enhance gameplay options

- Over 330,000 unique creators have joined The Sandbox in the past year

- Platform boasts 5.7 million user accounts linked to cryptocurrency wallets

- The Sandbox aims to launch its decentralized mobile metaverse platform in 2025

- Metaverse economy projected to grow to $5 trillion by 2030

- The Sandbox's focus on digital ownership and creator monetization sets it apart from other metaverse projects.