Austin entrepreneur launches $4.4 million island in the metaverse

island

Here’s a sneak peek of this multi-million dollar island in the metaverse. | Screenshot of Giphy by ATXtoday via White Sands

Remember when we told you Facebook’s parent company Meta signed a historic lease at one of the tallest + newest buildings under construction in Austin? Now, the Capital City has even more ties to the virtual world.

Local entrepreneur Adam Hollander has launched a $4.4 million tropical island getaway in the metaverse.

This luxury getaway, which technically exists and doesn’t physically exist at the same time, sold out of its 3,000 NFT plots of land in just one day.

Adam — a serial entrepreneur who sold his gamification software to Microsoft in 2015 — spent $1.2 million of his own money on technology infrastructure, as reported by KVUE.

After completing its mint (think: minting a coin), the White Sands virtual island raised $4.4 million without accepting funds from any investors and sold $3.6 million on the secondary market (think: where investors exchange financial assets with each other).

Did we mention luxury villas on the island will also go up for sale in a few weeks? If you’re interested in snagging one, hold your virtual horses. The 250 pre-built luxury villas will only be offered to current White Sands plot owners.

Owners at White Sands will be able to customize their experience when it comes to furniture, vehicles, and pets. The island’s roadmap even includes scavenger hunts, a virtual vehicle reveal party, and getaways to other NFT worlds.

Take a look at the luxury homes + learn more here. Just remember, you might be able to look, but you can’t touch. Welcome to the virtual world.