Decentraland vs. Enjin Coin

In this article, we are comparing two cryptocurrencies that have not many similarities in use cases. Both Decentraland (MANA) and Enjin Coin (ENJ) are associated with gaming and virtual reality. However, the platforms standing behind these tokens are different. Despite the differences between Decentraland and Enjin Coin, these tokens' price trajectories are alike and both coins occupy close positions in the list of crypto coins by market cap. As of March 2022, both coins are among the top 100 cryptocurrencies. Below we will compare Decentraland vs Enjin Coin by key factors so you will have enough data to see which of the projects is a better investment.

1. What Is Decentraland (MANA)?
2. What Is Enjin Coin (ENJ)?
3. Decentraland (MANA) vs Enjin Coin (ENJ) (table)
4. Decentraland (MANA) vs Enjin Coin (ENJ) (details)
5. Conclusion

What Is Decentraland (MANA)?

Decentraland is an Ethereum-based platform for building virtual worlds. In Decentraland, users can purchase (or sell) Land, a virtual land which can be used as a space for creating digital objects that can be monetized or connected with applications, and so on. It is possible to turn your Land into a digital real estate shop or event venue.

Decentraland has its native token that serves as a currency of this virtual universe. It is an ERC20 token called MANA. It appeared on the market in October 2017, right before one of the biggest crypto rallies in history. Initially, the token was traded at around one cent, but in January it peaked at 25 cents per coin. However, the price went down the same month. MANA was staying below 10 cents. In December 2020, the crypto market began to warm up. It was the beginning of the new bull market. In 2021, the market saw several tremendous spikes and MANA has benefited from it more than most. In the spring MANA was traded at nearly $1.5. November 2021 was the best time for MANA. On November 25, the token's price reached its ATH at $5.85. However, the overall crypto market decline of late 2021 determined the the following decrease of the MANA’s price.

What Is Enjin Coin (ENJ)?

Enjin Coin (ENJ) is a native token of the Enjin blockchain-based platform. Enjin serves as a base platform for hundreds of gaming communities and millions of gamers' accounts. The platform can be used for safe trading digital goods. On top of that, Enjin offers software development kits (SDKs). Enjin Coin is the core currency of the Enjin economy. Just like MANA, Enjin Coin is an ERC20 token. Apart from financial transactions, Enjin Coin provides smart contracts functionality.

Enjin was founded back in 2009, however, it adopted blockchain technology much later. When Enjin Coin was created the company had a large gaming communities network. Enjin developed the native token and raised $35 million in ICO. Since then, the company deployed it to hundreds of thousands gaming websites.

The ENJ coin hit the market just a month after MANA, in November 2017 — right amidst the rising crypto storm. At the first peak in January 2018, the coin nearly reached 50 cents. Unlike MANA, Enjin Coin was still very volatile in 2018 - 2020. Its price was ranging in the $0.05 - $0.22 interval. In January of 2021, the coin began to grow quickly. It peaked at $3.46 in April and at $4.46 in November declining to $1.6 in March of 2022.

Decentraland (MANA) vs Enjin Coin (ENJ) (table)

Decentraland (MANA) vs Enjin Coin (ENJ) (details)

Both coins appeared on the market in the fall of 2017 and quickly gained much value due to the crypto rally of that period and successful promotion. In early 2018, Enjin Coin reached a much higher price than MANA. More than that, in following years, traders could gain profits buying ENJ low and selling it high. In 2018 - 2020, the coin went through a number of ups and downs with 300% amplitude. MANA was less turbulent and was rather a stable asset that could be used for diversification of portfolio. Especially, it is true for the post-summer 2018 period when the MANA price has been staying below 10 cents. 

Both coins have grown significantly in the first half of 2021 but it's worth saying that Enjin coin was leading the competition. Its price was three times higher than the MANA's in the spring of 2021. However, the balance has flipped in October 2021. In the last several days of the month, the MANA price has skyrocketed. It went from 75 cents on October 28 to $3.53 on October 31. Enjin Coin that had a bigger price in October didn't manage to keep up with MANA after its sudden spike. Both coins had record prices on November 25 and MANA's ATH price is $5.85 while ENJ is only $4.82 despite 4 years of dominance in the race. 

In terms of price and market cap MANA eventually excelled Enjin Coin. As of March 2022, MANA managed to occupy the position among the top 30 coins by market cap while Enjin Coin is placed between the 70th and 80th positions. These days, experts consider MANA to be a more promising project. For instance, one of the factors that makes Decentraland products more valuable is a high scarcity of LAND tokens. Its supply is limited to only 990,000 LAND. We believe that such a scarcity drives the prices of all Decentraland products including the MANA token. Decentraland gives users a more diverse functionality hence users have more freedom in forming different ways of monetizing their activity on the platform. 

Enjin is rather a more narrow platform providing rich functionality for those who look to trade or build NFTs. It makes Enjin one of the most successful blockchain projects as NFTs have been on the rise lately but Decentraland attracts more types of investors due to a more diverse set of features. Additionally, digital real estate is considered to be the thing in the future. The fact that Decentraland is pioneering this sphere right now gives MANA a serious advantage compared to Enjin. Enjin Coin is used in third party games. That's the feature that Decentraland lacks. In general, we cannot say that Decentraland is that similar to Enjin. It means that both coins will probably keep their positions among the leading projects in the industry.