India has emerged as a leading content creator source for the popular Metaverse platform, The Sandbox, surpassing the US and Brazil. According to The Sandbox co-founder Sebastien Borget, India currently has over 66,000 content creators compared to 59,989 in the US and 25,335 in Brazil.
Focused Specifically on the Indian Market
India‘s rise came after The Sandbox’s strategic focus on the Indian market, announced in December 2023, which doubled the platform’s user base in the country to 350,000. The company now aims to reach one million users in India within the next two years.
Borget attributed the rapid growth to various boot camps and educational programs conducted either directly by The Sandbox or through its joint venture in India, BharatBox, in collaboration with partners like the India-based cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX.
BharatBox was initially launched with $1 million in funding and is expected to receive an additional $200,000 by the fourth quarter of this year. Despite The Sandbox raising $20 million with a $1 billion valuation in early 2024, Borget stated that further investment in India is unnecessary as the initiative is designed to be self-sustaining and generate its own revenue.
Borget emphasized that India is more than just a global tech workforce, highlighting the success of Blockchain projects not only in development but also in content and entertainment. For example, the sale of 1,060 avatars of characters from the popular Indian movie “Jab We Met” within two weeks of release demonstrates The Sandbox’s successful entry into India’s cinema sector.
Borget: Market Has Not Yet Entered Bull Phase
Commenting on the overall Web3 market, Borget noted increased interest due to the approval of spot-crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US but emphasized that the market has not yet entered a bull phase. He pointed out that institutional money flow has not led to higher user adoption because retail investors have not heavily invested their savings in crypto. However, Borget remains optimistic about Web3 adoption with the emergence of higher-quality games and platforms like Telegram‘s distribution network.
Borget also commented on the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France over allegations related to illegal transactions and child abuse materials on the platform. He stressed that while privacy is a fundamental right, platforms should not remain neutral and must cooperate with authorities when used for serious crimes.
