An Introduction to MANA & Its Role in the Decentraland Ecosystem
By Decentraland, , in About Decentraland
MANA is at the heart of Decentraland’s economy. It’s a utility token that fuels everything from buying virtual land to customizing avatars and supporting creators.
Whether you’re exploring Decentraland for the first time or looking to understand how its economy works, this guide walks through MANA’s origins, its role in everyday activity, and why it’s more than just a way to pay for things.
What is MANA?
MANA is the utility token for Decentraland. It is the cryptocurrency that people use to buy, sell, and create inside the virtual world. With MANA, you can purchase or rent virtual LAND, customize your avatar with Wearables, mint new Emotes, or claim a NAME that makes your identity unique.
Unlike paying in dollars or swiping a credit card, MANA is built directly into Decentraland’s system. This means every time you use it, your purchase is permanently recorded on the blockchain (a public digital ledger), so you can prove that what you own is really yours.
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From the start, MANA was designed to circulate within this economy. At launch, there was a fixed supply of 2.8 billion tokens. During the first LAND sales, more than 600 million were permanently removed (or “burned”) as parcels were purchased, helping to tie MANA’s supply directly to community activity.
To date, more than 2.1 million users have participated in the Decentraland ecosystem, with over 8 million MANA transfers recorded on-chain (around 3M on Ethereum and 5M on Polygon). These aren’t abstract numbers. They represent creators earning income, users customizing avatars, and communities building shared spaces. MANA is the connective tissue of Decentraland’s economy, linking ownership, creativity, and participation.
The Story of MANA
The name MANA was chosen as a nod to mystical energy or spiritual force, particularly in Polynesian culture, where mana is seen as a powerful presence flowing through people, objects, and the environment. The word also resonates with RPGs and gaming systems, where mana is the energy that fuels abilities, an apt symbol for a virtual world built on creativity and ownership.
In Decentraland, MANA represents the power to create, own, and influence. It was introduced in 2017 alongside the concept of LAND parcels, individual plots of virtual real estate that players could buy and build on. Owning a parcel means having a permanent, on-chain record of your property and the freedom to design anything from an art gallery to a nightclub.
MANA’s first major use came during the LAND auctions, where bidding in MANA both distributed parcels to users and permanently reduced the supply of tokens. This embedded scarcity into the system while proving digital ownership could be transparent and verifiable.
Since then, MANA has evolved far beyond real estate. It became the utility token for avatar fashion, Emotes, and NAMEs—ways for users to express identity and creativity. It has also fueled grants, contests, and sponsorships that fund branded builds and community projects, from fashion weeks to live music venues. What began as a utility token for auctions has grown into the backbone of a living, creator-driven economy.
Where to Get MANA
Getting MANA is simple. The easiest way for newcomers is through payment providers built into Decentraland (referred to as ‘on-ramps’), where you can buy it with a debit or credit card in your local currency. Go to the Marketplace and in the top right corner, you’ll see a ‘Buy MANA’ button that guides you through the process step by step.
From there, you’ll be asked which network of MANA you want:
Polygon MANA – used for most Wearables and Emotes. Transactions are fast, low-cost, and often gasless.
Ethereum MANA – used for LAND, avatar NAMEs, and legacy Wearables that were originally created on Ethereum before Decentraland migrated most activity to Polygon.
Once you’ve selected the network, you can buy MANA using familiar payment methods like debit or credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or bank transfer. Providers, such as MoonPay and Transak handle the conversion for you, so you’re essentially topping up your Decentraland balance with the click of a button.
After purchase, your MANA is stored in your wallet account. If you signed up with an email, this wallet is created for you automatically and linked to your account. If you are connected with a ERC-20 compatible wallet such as MetaMask or Ledger, your MANA goes straight there. Either way, your balance is ready to use in Decentraland.
For more experienced users, MANA is also widely available on major crypto exchanges. This includes centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Wherever you normally buy crypto, you’ll likely find MANA listed.
MANA for Community Ownership
MANA is also governance power. When you use your MANA as Voting Power (VP), you take part in the Decentraland DAO, the community organization that controls core smart contracts and manages the ecosystem’s resources.
Voting Power (VP) comes from holding MANA (1 MANA = 1 VP), as well as owning assets like LAND, Estates, NAMEs, or legacy Wearables. With your VP, you can vote on protocol upgrades, elect or authorize committees and councils to execute community projects, curate content in-world, or delegate your vote to a trusted steward.
Why it matters: Decisions aren’t set by a single entity but by participants who hold and use Decentraland digital assets. This shared governance strengthens security (no single point of control) and aligns funding with what the community values. In short, MANA fuels activity in-world and also helps govern Decentraland’s future.
MANA for Creators
Creators are at the core of Decentraland; they design the Wearables, Emotes, and experiences that keep the world beautiful, engaging, and fresh. That’s why Decentraland is built around one of the most creator-friendly economic models in any digital platform.
In the Marketplace, creators keep 97.5% of every primary sale, while the remaining 2.5% goes directly to the Decentraland DAO, a community-governed treasury that funds new initiatives. On secondary sales, creators also earn 2.5% royalties, ensuring they continue to benefit as their work circulates. All of these transactions happen in MANA, which serves as the unit of exchange across the economy.
Publishing a Wearable or Emote requires a $100 USD fee per item (paid in MANA), which also goes to the DAO to support curation and ensure quality standards. During special programs this fee is sometimes reimbursed, lowering the barrier for newcomers.
Creators benefit not only from direct sales but also from the way Decentraland makes MANA accessible to buyers. Users can pay by card—with automatic conversion into MANA behind the scenes—but creators are always paid in MANA, with every sale recorded on the blockchain, providing transparent, verifiable proof of payment and ownership.
On top of this, Marketplace Credits earned by users through events, exploration, or activities are spent back into the Marketplace. This creates an additional revenue stream for creators, since those credits can only be redeemed for Wearables and Emotes, directly fueling demand for their work.
Compared with traditional social platforms like TikTok or YouTube, where creators typically receive only around 50% of revenue or other virtual worlds, where commissions can range from 30% to 70%, Decentraland puts creators first. With 5 million Wearables and Emotes minted, nearly $2M USD has already been earned by creators. While most earnings come from primary sales, around 8% comes from royalties, which serves as proof that creators can continue benefiting as their designs circulate in the community.
The Cultural Value of MANA
MANA powers culture in Decentraland. Weekly rituals like UnMonday bring crowds together with music, giveaways, and MANA prizes. Past events such as Metaverse Fashion Week and Prom Night hosted Wearables contests where creators were reimbursed publishing fees in MANA and competed for prize pools worth thousands, lowering the barrier to entry and incentivizing bold new designs.
Earlier this year, open calls awarded artists and builders MANA to create installations for Art Week, turning fresh ideas into destinations that will shape the months ahead. The same spirit was extended to music: through the Music Talent Trail, venues were awarded MANA to host live performances, supporting both creators and the vibrant community of fans who gather around them. MANA is also awarded as contest prizes and community rewards, recognizing creative effort and participation.
Why MANA Matters
MANA is the foundation of Decentraland’s economy, culture, and governance. It fuels self-expression, supports creators and artists, and gives users a real voice in shaping the future of virtual worlds. Whether you’re here to design, trade, socialize, or simply explore, MANA is the thread that ties it all together.
Ready to take part?
Start exploring Decentraland’s economy today by collecting your first Wearable, supporting creators, or voting in the DAO. Your MANA has the power to shape the virtual world.