Portion.io, a 21st-century blockchain-based auction house and collector’s community for rare high-end physical and digital art items, announces the purchase of ”Portion District”, an estate within Decentraland, a 3D virtual world platform where users buy virtual plots of land as NFTs. The purchase was completed for 425,000 MANA, equivalent to approximately 1,200,000 USD, as of 01/27/21.

Just like Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, high-traffic areas serve as a premium thoroughfare for world-famous luxury brands, and the coming Metaverse is building its own such districts. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Decentraland is one of the Metaverse’s early movers and has proved itself a popular arena for this, where plots of lands are bought, sold, and used to create an entirely virtual decentralized district. But for artists and brands looking to enter the fledgling space, the focus is on exploring what’s possible in terms of technical and visual capabilities. As digital experiences move from two dimensions to three, building real-world brand experiences will thus prove a pivotal juncture.

To help brands and artists explore their potential in the space, Portion has acquired ”Portion District,” a large estate near Genesis Plaza in Decentraland. The acquisition comes on the heels of its recent successful partnership with digital consultancy Publicis Sapient. As a leader in digital business transformation, Publicis Sapient partners with the world’s largest brands, most of which are exploring and investing in Web 3.0. Portion’s district acquisition helps empower connected brands and companies to evolve and appeal to a new generation of consumers, by properly refining the user experience before launch, including how transactions are processed, products are tested, and digital interactions are recorded.

The acquisition is part of a wider decentralized mission by Portion to connect artists and collectors through blockchain technology in order to easily sell, invest, and own art and collectibles with complete transparency. The company’s NFT auction platform is built on the Ethereum blockchain and its NFT marketplace lists high-end crypto artworks and collectibles from various artists. Portion’s platform offers a high degree of transparency while facilitating the exchange of high-value and authentic digital artworks. To optimize engagements, Portion utilizes its native token $PRT to align incentives between artists, creators, and a new wave of collectors.

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“We’re incredibly excited to acquire a premium district in the Decentraland ecosystem in the early stages of its development,” says Jason Rosenstein, CEO & Founder of Portion. “It’s a major step in our journey since it helps us begin tangibly building out on a vision we’ve been developing for quite some time, allowing us to effectively optimize proof of concepts for the growing pool of curious artists and brands merging themselves into the Metaverse.”

“Today’s transaction represents a significant financial commitment to trading in the metaverse and shows the huge commercial potential of Web 3.0,” says AJ Dalal, Publicis Sapient’s GVP, Data Strategy & Consulting. “Our partnership with Portion is demonstrating how brands can offer the next generation of compelling and engaging digital experiences and products. Combined, our partnership is accelerating our growth into new digital spaces and many more companies will leverage business opportunities in the metaverse in the coming months.”