A few days ago, Facebook announced its rebranding to "Meta," which gave a boost to a little-known cryptocurrency preparing for Metaverse expansion. On Saturday, Mana, a gaming cryptocurrency used for buying and selling virtual land, soared to a record high of $4.16, more than 400% above its value earlier that week. Its total market capitalization reached $7.52 billion before it subsequently dropped to about $2.99 per unit as of yesterday, bringing its total value to approximately $5.5 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. This obscure cryptocurrency was created in 2017 as the national token for Decentraland, a virtual reality platform where users can buy and sell digital properties that they can navigate and build upon.
The sudden rise in Mana occurred just days after Facebook announced its rebranding to Meta as part of its focus on developing the Metaverse—an ecosystem of virtual reality where users can interact with each other through avatars. The term Metaverse encompasses all types of virtual reality platforms and multiplayer gaming worlds, such as Oculus VR headsets and Fortnite.
