Non-LAND assets drove growth, recording $117,726 in secondary sales (up 52.1% QoQ) alongside a 78.2% increase in daily active non-LAND buyers to 264.7, fueled by new partnerships and the release of Alpha Season 5. LAND assets recorded $733,244 in secondary sales, reflecting a 4.4% decrease QoQ.
Total non-LAND and LAND secondary volume reached $850,971, a 10.9% increase from Q1, underscoring ecosystem demand despite broader market headwinds.
In Q2 2025, staking was primarily driven by non-LAND asset owners, who accounted for 60.8% of the total staking pool,with 0.52% of SAND’s circulating supply staked by quarter-end.
SAND’s market performance softened in Q2, down to $0.28 (a 33.1% decrease from $0.42). Ecosystem engagement remained a supportive factor, with activity surrounding Alpha Season 5 and anticipation for the AdventureWorld LAND sale helping sustain marketplace demand and community participation, even as the token price contracted.
Primer
The Sandbox (SAND) is a social gaming metaverse platform where users play, create, and monetize unique experiences alongside their favorite brands, IPs, and celebrities across gaming, entertainment, music, art, and more. The Sandbox leverages Web3 technologies to enable end-user creation and creator economies, differentiating it from existing platforms by providing players and creators with true ownership of their assets, creations, and rewards as NFTs. Key tokenized and gaming features within the project’s ecosystem include:
SAND - An ERC-20 token and digital in-game currency used for purchases, monetization, and asset creation. The total token supply is capped at 3 billion.
LAND - Digital ownable land within The Sandbox Metaverse. LAND is an ERC-721 token deployed and available on the Polygon network.
ESTATE - A combination of LANDs to create a larger plot.
ASSET - Created using the VoxEdit application, these assets are converted to ERC-1155 tokens once uploaded to The Sandbox marketplace.
AVATARS - ERC-721 tokens that are playable characters within The Sandbox.
CATALYST - ERC-1155 tokens burned to define an ASSETs tier/scarcity.
Game Maker - A toolbox that enables users to create 3D games and experiences.
VoxEdit - Software used to create and animate equipment and other gaming assets.
Game Client - Enables players to play experiences created with the Game Maker.
The Sandbox operates digital real estate known as LAND (NFTs), which serves as the foundation for interactive gaming, hosting metaverse experiences, and generating player activity. There are over 166,464 plots of LAND on The Sandbox Map, the platform's virtual world grid, with each plot being 96x96 meters. These plots are NFTs that players can buy, sell, or use to create unique experiences. Content creators utilize LAND to create immersive gaming experiences, social hubs, and more, while also developing and showcasing content, making it one of the most valuable NFT assets within the ecosystem. To monetize their work, creators must have their experience published to a plot of LAND on The Sandbox Map.
The Sandbox was initially launched as a 2D mobile game in 2012 by the software development company Pixowl before rebranding to a 3D metaverse game in May 2018. It offers Avatar-centric gameplay in the form of single and multiplayer experiences created by end-users (user-generated content) and internal teams. Digital ownership plays a pivotal role in the overall ecosystem, offering a more robust in-game economy due to the tradeable nature of the SAND token and other assets within the ecosystem. Such assets include in-game, user-generated NFTs that can be used or sold on The Sandbox Marketplace or other notable NFT trading platforms.
In Q2 2025, SAND’s circulating market cap reached $588.6 million, reflecting an 11.0% QoQ decline from $661.7 million in Q1. The price of SAND followed this downward trend, stabilizing at $0.28 by quarter-end (a 33.1% decrease from $0.42 in Q1 2025). SAND experienced a quarterly high in circulating market cap and token price on May 10, 2025, with a recorded market cap of $899.1 million and a token price of $0.37.
Sales Volume
In Q2 2025, The Sandbox recorded approximately $850,971 in total secondary volume across LAND and non-LAND assets. This figure represents a 10.9% increase from Q1, in which total secondary volume totaled $767,539.
LAND activity remained steady in Q2, with secondary sales volume totaling $733,245, a 4.4% decline QoQ compared to $766,887 in Q1. LAND continued to represent the majority of marketplace activity, contributing approximately 86% of the quarter’s total secondary sales.
Private auctions (invite-only bidding on premium LAND or ESTATE parcels)
Public auctions (open bidding via platforms like OpenSea, GBM, and MOOAR)
Notably, The Sandbox recorded $29,395 in primary LAND sales in Q2. This was influenced by the AdventureWorld: The Wildlands LAND sale featuring Jurassic World, Bruce Lee, and The British Museum. The AdventureWorld: Wildlands LAND Sale consisted of two parts: a public LAND auction conducted via the GBM bid-to-earn model and a public sale on The Sandbox’s website. The auction included 1x1, 3x3, and 6x6 plots, allowing community members to bid with the chance to earn rewards if they were outbid. This model incentivized participation by compensating non-winning bidders and increasing auction engagement. Purchasers received digital and IRL rewards for joining the neighborhood.
In terms of non-LAND assets, The Sandbox recorded $117,726 in Q2 secondary sales volume, a 52.1% increase from $77,410 in Q1. Growth in active non-LAND asset buyers during Q2 is a result of Alpha Season 5 featuring Jurassic World. Read more about the cross-platform event in the Ecosystem Development section.
Staking Activity
As of June 30, 2025, 0.52% of SAND’s circulating supply (42.1 million SAND) was staked, a decline from 0.76% (54.5 million SAND) in Q1. At the end of Q2, The Sandbox’s Non-LAND owners' staking pool was recorded at 18.9 million SAND (approximately $5.3 million), and the LAND owners' staking pool totaled 12.2 million SAND (approximately $3.4 million). The non-LAND owners' staking pool continued to represent the majority share of staking activity, composing 60.8% of the total staking pool.
SAND staking occurs on Polygon and remains structured across two main pools:
Non-LAND Owners Pool - Open to all SAND holders, providing flexible staking options.
LAND Owners Pool - Reserved for LAND holders, with a cap of 2,000 SAND per LAND asset and access to staking multipliers based on LAND ownership.
In June 2025, The Sandbox closed its staking pools. This initiative ended The Sandbox’s staking reward program and requested that all participants withdraw their funds.
Daily Active Asset Buyers
In Q2 2025, the average number of daily non-LAND asset buyers rose to 264.7 from 148.6 in Q1, an increase of 78.2% QoQ, driven by the launch of Alpha Season 5 featuring Jurassic World. Paired with the season was the Jurassic World Dinosaur Egg Collection. Players could purchase egg NFTs and complete quests inside the Jurassic World Experience to transform them into adult-sized dinosaur NFTs. The NFT could then be stored in their wallet or integrated into their own experiences.
In terms of LAND demand, daily active buyers averaged 8.4 in Q2, down from 12.1 in Q1 (a 30.1% decline). This contraction followed heightened Q1 activity, during which LAND benefited from concentrated sale events. In Q2, momentum shifted toward Non-LAND assets and branded experiences, including Alpha Season 5 and the Jurassic World Dinosaur Egg collection, which drove buyer growth beyond LAND sales.
Ecosystem Developments
An Overview of Alpha Season 5 featuring Jurassic World
Alpha Season 5 continued The Sandbox’s approach of combining branded content with user-generated experiences to drive engagement across the platform. Internal metrics demonstrated strong retention and acquisition dynamics, with 53% of participants being new players and 47% returning. Player engagement was notable, with an average session time of 97 minutes per user.
Participation concentrated around a handful of branded and thematic experiences. Nearly 60,000 users engaged with the Jurassic World: Dinosaur Preserve, making it the most popular destination of the season. Other frequently visited locations included the Alpha Season 5 Hub, Chupa Chups City, and Deepak Chopra: Meditation Oasis. Collectible activity also remained a feature of seasonal play, with over 20,000 “Jungle Category Key” NFTs redeemed during the season.
Overall, Alpha Season 5 reinforced The Sandbox’s strategy of leveraging recognizable intellectual property (IP) and gamified reward structures to sustain ecosystem activity.
As an important note, all Alpha Season 5 player and engagement statistics were provided directly by The Sandbox’s team.
DAO Updates
Two Sandbox DAO proposals from Q2 2025 are highlighted below:
Proposed the creation of a structured grant program to incentivize builders, creators, and community initiatives within the protocol’s ecosystem. The framework is intended to formalize funding pathways for projects that contribute to content creation, tooling, or cultural programming. If implemented, the SDGP would mark a significant evolution in DAO resource allocation by introducing recurring funding cycles and transparent criteria for applicant selection.
Centered on funding a live event to showcase and celebrate the top winners of the Impact Game Jam, one of The Sandbox’s flagship community competitions. The initiative aimed to bridge virtual content creation with real-world exposure by bringing visibility to winning developers and their projects. The event was positioned as a continuation of the DAO’s efforts to support creator-focused programming within the ecosystem.
For a complete list of active and past proposals, visit The Sandbox DAO’s governance dashboard.
Closing Summary
Q2 2025 reflected steady ecosystem activity for The Sandbox. Secondary market sales totaled $850,971, up 10.9% QoQ from $767,539 in Q1. LAND remained the dominant segment at $733,245 (about 86% of total secondary sales), while non-LAND assets contributed $117,726, a 52.1% QoQ increase. Daily active Non-LAND buyers averaged 264.7 (up 78.2% QoQ), supported by Alpha Season 5 and the Jurassic World Dinosaur Egg collection, while daily active LAND buyers averaged 8.4, down from 12.1 in Q1.
On the staking side, 0.52% of SAND’s circulating supply (42.1 million SAND) was staked by quarter-end, down from 0.76% (54.5 million SAND) in Q1, with Non-LAND owners accounting for 60.8% of the pool. The circulating market cap of SAND closed the quarter at $588.6 million, down from $661.7 million in Q1, with the token trading at $0.28 compared to $0.42 previously. While SAND underperformed broader crypto assets, ecosystem engagement provided a counterbalance. Alpha Season 5 participation and anticipation for the AdventureWorld LAND sale helped sustain marketplace demand and community activity despite the weaker token trend.
Meanwhile, DAO activity advanced through SIP-25, which outlined a structured grants program, and SIP-29, which supported a live event for Impact Game Jam winners. Together, these governance efforts added another layer of activity, complementing marketplace dynamics and player participation.
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