The one part of crypto that’s still in crypto winter
Crypto is booming again. Bitcoin is near record highs, Walmart and Amazon are reportedly exploring stablecoins, Robinhood is tokenizing shares of public and private companies, and NFTs—once left for dead—are stirring back to life. Even crypto-powered “network states” are inching toward reality.
But one star from the last bull run hasn’t joined the rally: the metaverse.
Back in 2020 and 2021, the metaverse was the tech industry’s favorite toy—an immersive digital frontier where we’d work, play, and shop. Facebook rebranded to Meta, VR headsets flew off shelves, and internet searches for “metaverse” jumped 7,200% in a single year. JPMorgan called it a $1 trillion opportunity that would “likely infiltrate every sector.”
Decentraland was among the breakout stars of the metaverse, a bustling virtual city with casinos, concerts, branded events from Dolce & Gabbana to Nestlé, and even a JPMorgan lounge.
But now, in 2025, the “future of the internet” looks far from the Ready Player One-esque revolution once promised.
Once-booming world hits record low
Built on the Ethereum blockchain and powered by its own cryptocurrency (dubbed MANA), Decentraland allowed users to buy and sell land as non-fungible tokens and customize avatars with tokenized wearables.
“Blockchains, NFTs, and Web3 overall are similar,” says Matthew Ball, CEO of the venture capital firm Epyllion. “There are those who believe these technologies and/or systems will be needed to build the metaverse, others who say it’s the best way to do so, and some who believe that these technologies are irrelevant to the metaverse and in general.”
While some saw Decentraland as a financial opportunity, most used it to socialize, attending concerts by artists like Grimes, Ozzy Osbourne, and Björk, or gambling in a virtual casino that reportedly generated $7.5 million in just three months.
But last year, reports surfaced claiming the once-thriving world had become a ghost town, with fewer than 50 active users during a 24-hour period.
Other blockchain-based worlds have also struggled to maintain engagement. The Sandbox, another decentralized platform, has attracted just 5.7 million users—in total—since its founding in 2011.
Decentraland refuted the low usage claims, asserting that it had 8,000 daily active users instead.
Still, user sentiment paints a complicated picture. One Reddit user shared their early excitement but noted they “lost interest for a number of reasons,” citing poor user experience, low engagement, and abandoned projects. “I wanted it to work, perhaps it still could, but not without an enormous overhaul to the overall design and leadership approach.”
Others had similar experiences: Some made money and left, while others simply moved on. “Made a shit ton of money from it,” one Reddit user said, “but when crypto winter came in 2021, that shit died.” Another added: “Used to log in during COVID and play in the casino for fun. There was never anyone around even then.”
Crypto-based worlds taking the back seat
When asked for more recent figures, the Decentraland Foundation—the nonprofit overseeing the open-source platform—reported 2.3 million unique visitors to platform properties and 24 million all-time unique visitors.
“At Decentraland, we believe success in a virtual world isn’t measured by how many people log in every day,” Decentraland Foundation marketing chief Kim Currier tells Fast Company. “Daily active users is a metric borrowed from social media and gaming platforms that are designed to keep people endlessly scrolling or grinding. That’s never been our goal.”
Instead, the foundation emphasizes engagement. “More than 274,000 friendships accepted, 19 million chat messages exchanged, and over 616 million Emotes [actions for your avatar like dance moves or a wave] expressed to date,” Currier shared. “These are signs of real presence and connection.”
To improve user experience, the foundation has continued to build. In October, it made a major shift from a browser-based platform to a downloadable desktop version. It also removed the requirement for Web3 wallets, aiming to make the platform more accessible.
According to the foundation, the desktop version has been downloaded over 196,000 times. It added that third-party usage trackers can no longer reliably measure activity. “Any numbers they share today are outdated and incomplete,” a foundation spokesperson tells Fast Company.
Changing expectations
While blockchain-based metaverse platforms haven’t taken off as once expected, others have succeeded in offering immersive digital experiences without relying on VR or cryptocurrency.
“They’re thinking, like, way further in the future,” Currier says. “The misconception is that the metaverse is something where you put a headset on and you’re fully immersed in a world that is photorealistic and completely different from your physical experience.”
“Many see the metaverse as VR, because when Zuckerberg renamed Facebook, their sole product in market was a VR headset,” Ball notes. Still, he adds, the technology isn’t advanced enough yet, and it’s not essential for the metaverse to exist.
“I think now we are in a place where people have more realistic expectations about what’s physically possible and technologically possible,” Currier says.
Today’s metaverse may look more like platforms such as Roblox or Minecraft—vast, user-driven spaces where social interaction is central.
“The clearest market leader is Roblox, a virtual world platform—and one which described itself as a metaverse company long before Facebook or Microsoft ever declared for the same ambitions,” Ball says. He points out that during Roblox Corp.’s IPO, the word “metaverse” appeared in its SEC filing 16 times—more than it ever had before.
As the dust settles on early hype, the concept of the metaverse is also shifting in how it’s meant to fit into people’s lives.
“At Decentraland, we really, firmly believe it’s not meant to replace your real life,” Currier says. “People are spending a little bit more time in the physical world with their real families, their friends, and that’s okay.”
