What happened
Popular metaverse cryptocurrency The Sandbox (SAND -0.87%) has seen some wild price action today. As of noon ET, this token has surged into positive territory, up 2.1% over the past 24 hours. This move negated an earlier intraday decline that saw The Sandbox decline as much as 5.9% over a 24-hour period ending this morning.
The Sandbox has been one of the higher-beta cryptocurrencies of late, surging in late 2021 as investors sought metaverse-related assets. Accordingly, during the recent market-driven declines tied to macro risks, The Sandbox has underperformed.
This morning, investors appear to be taking a more positive view of risk assets, as bond yields declined following news that the Russia-Ukraine war might be heating up.
Image source: Getty Images.
And news out of South Korea early this morning suggested that the country will be investing heavily in creating its own metaverse platform. A $187 million national metaverse project will be set up, something South Korea hopes will spur corporate growth domestically.
So what
Indeed, the metaverse is an interesting place for investors to focus on right now. On the one hand, they can certainly make the argument that metaverse stocks and cryptocurrencies both likely appreciated far too rapidly, relative to their long-term growth prospects. Accordingly, this breather can be viewed as one that has been necessary, from a fundamentals standpoint.
On the other hand, the massive corporate (and now government) investment in this space is one that has many investors excited. This news coming out of South Korea might renew interest among many investors who have put blockchain-based metaverse projects on the back burner.
Now what
There's not much investors can control when it comes to the macro environment. Yes, risk assets are rallying once again today amid lower bond yields. However, the roller coaster ride we've been on in recent months appears to be far from over. Accordingly, those looking at any high-beta asset, such as The Sandbox, should be aware of the inherent risks tied to volatility, particularly over the near term.
However, from a longer-term perspective, there is a lot to like about the fact that big money continues to flow into the metaverse. Capital flows matter, and today's news might have sparked some renewed interest among dormant investors.
The metaverse is a growth area (both within and outside of the crypto world) that I think has legs. Accordingly, The Sandbox is a top metaverse crypto project investors might want to put on their watch list.
