The Sandbox signs an agreement with Saudi Arabia's digital government authority

The metaverse momentum has been revitalized. The Sandbox has signed an initial partnership agreement with Saudi Arabia's Digital Government Authority (DGA) for an unspecified scope. As bear market conditions took over in 2022, they dampened major metaverse momentum that had been built up throughout 2021. However, the first 30 days of 2023 have begun strongly, and several previously active crypto niches are reviving.

The Sandbox COO and co-founder Sebastien Borget broke the news in a LinkedIn post on, stating that it was "a true honor to sign our MOU partnership ceremony between The Sandbox and the Saudi Arabia Digital Government Authority (DGA) during #leap2023 conference, and we look forward to exploring, advising, and supporting mutually each other in Metaverse activations!" MOUs, or memorandums of understanding, are the first binding agreement of this type, generally signaling intent to sign for a larger agreement while establishing the parameters and scope of such an agreement. Beyond Borges’s statement, little is known about the partnership, particularly in terms of scale and scope, leaving observers with more questions than answers.

Borgetannouncedt at the Riyadh Front Expo Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the LEAP Tech Conference. It's the first notable collaboration from any major metaverse player in a long time, including The Sandbox's main competitor Decentraland. While the metaverse space has been quiet recently, it is far from dead, and this collaboration could be an early pillar of momentum for more to come if the market is indeed changing tides. We hadn't heard anything noteworthy from either major metaverse competitor since mid-year last year when our team covered The Sandbox's collaboration with Playboy. However, it will take much more than this single transaction - especially one of unknown size - to signal a genuine shift in momentum.

The conference in Saudi Arabia comes as the Middle East continues to establish itself as a hub for emerging technologies. The newly formed Middle East, Asia, and Africa blockchain association chose Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, as its headquarters in November. The Dubai International Financial Centre had recently implemented a crypto token regime that would apply to all tokens recognized in the zone. When it comes to Web3, the city has long been a beacon of regional innovation. It launched the first nonfungible token store and published its long-awaited regulations for virtual asset providers on February 7.