The Sandbox Cuts Half of Its Staff, Restructures as Animoca Brands Take Control

Metaverse platform The Sandbox is undergoing a sweeping restructuring that will see more than half of its roughly 250 employees laid off, according to a report from French crypto outlet The Big Whale.

The move comes alongside a leadership shake-up in which co-founders Arthur Madrid and Sebastien Borget have been sidelined from executive roles. Their responsibilities are now being overseen by Yat Siu, CEO of Animoca Brands, The Sandbox’s majority shareholder.

The restructuring reportedly includes closing offices in Argentina, Uruguay, South Korea, Thailand, and Turkey, with the company’s base in Lyon also expected to shutter.

The measures highlight the platform’s struggle to translate years of investment into sustained user engagement. Despite raising $300 million over the past eight years, The Sandbox has seen its daily active users dwindle to just a few hundred, many of whom, sources claim, are bots operating primarily in South America.

The platform’s native token, SAND, has also performed poorly despite the crypto market entering an "altcoin season" in recent months. It had a market cap of $6.2 billion in 2021, that figure has now slumped to around $700 million following a 90% drawdown.

A key hurdle in the restructuring is what will happen to The Sandbox’s crypto treasury, which is estimated to be between $100 million and $300 million. Much of the treasury is proceeds from $350 million worth of "virtual land" sales during the metaverse peak in late 2021.

It could go to a governance vote, although it's worth noting that there has been just 291 votes from SAND holders across three proposals submitted in August.

The Sandbox did not immediately respond to CoinDesk's request for comment.