Sandbox’s SAND has broken out of a multi-year lull amid the protocol’s ecosystem developments and renewed interest from whales.
Sandbox (SAND) rose over 40% to hit a 28-month high of $1.06 on Thursday, Dec. 5, bringing its market cap to over $2.27 billion at press time. The recent gains pushed the altcoin up 57% over the past week.
The figures become even more striking when viewed over an extended timeframe: SAND has surged by 173.6% in the past two weeks and 303% over the last month.
Notably, the rally coincided with a jump in the altcoin’s daily trading volume and open interest in the futures market. Daily trading volume for SAND stood up 95% over the past day, with over $4.1 billion worth of trades over the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, CoinGlass data revealed that open interest in the SAND futures market had jumped by 19.87% over the previous day, reaching $228.58 million, significantly higher than the $32.39 million recorded in early November.
Why is SAND rising?
The majority of the gains recorded in the past 24 hours came after the project announced two new Sandbox Improvement Proposals that are expected to add more engaging content to the platform.
SIP 16 seeks €80,000 to develop Episode 2 of the popular survival horror game Deep Sea, introducing new features to elevate the gameplay experience. SIP 17 focuses on adding a player inventory filter within the Game Client, enabling users to quickly sort through equipment for a smoother gaming experience.
The momentum also ties to the ongoing Alpha Season 4, featuring the platform’s largest-ever reward pool of $2.5 million in SAND. Participants can earn rewards by completing various quests and challenges crafted in collaboration with major brands and franchises, including Playboy, Voice, and Hellboy.
Whales are accumulating
Whales have recently shifted their focus to the leading metaverse token. According to data from IntoTheBlock, SAND whale holder net flows shifted from a net outflow of $2.2 billion worth of SAND tokens at the beginning of this month to a net inflow of $8.2 billion worth of SAND tokens on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Whale accumulation often prompts retail investors to follow suit, driven by the fear of missing out (FOMO) on potential gains fueled by the growing interest in the altcoin.
Despite the significant rise in whale investments, the percentage of total addresses in profit remains around 50%. This alleviates fears of immediate whale selloffs, as nearly half of the holders are still at a loss and may choose to wait for further gains in the altcoin before initiating a selling spree.
Meanwhile, the surge isn’t just limited to SAND; it’s part of a bigger comeback for the entire metaverse crypto sector, which had previously experienced a significant downturn. Over the past 24 hours, the sector’s market cap jumped 5.29%, now sitting at over $30.68 billion.
Trading activity also spiked, with volume soaring 64.5% during the same period. Other big names in the metaverse space, like Render (RENDER) and Stacks (STX), also posted double-digit gains.